Silver Lining
by CF-fanfiction
Summary: All is quiet in Station Square...that is, until Sonic and Tails are kidnapped by Eggman. And that's just the beginning, for Eggman unveils his latest machine. The Robotizer!
1. Chapter 1

Chaos: Hello again, everybody!

Flower: The M of M sequel has about twenty different problems at the moment, and since it's gonna take about two months to fix it, I'm going to post this in the meantime. Whoo-hoo!

Chaos: It'll probably be about twenty chapters of two pages each, or something. Possibly longer. Anyway, read on!

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Miles '_Tails_' Prower was sleeping lightly, snuffling into his pillow, when the crash came from downstairs. He squealed and sat bolt upright, looking around quickly. For a second he thought it must have been just a dream, and was halfway through lying down again…

Then he heard footsteps. Quick as a flash he leapt out of bed and shouted, "Who's there?" For a long moment there was silence, and he began to think it was nothing, when a familiar voice called,

"Sorry! I knocked over a vase, or something. Do you have light switches here, or what?" Tails breathed a sigh of relief and pushed open the door.

"Near the phone, Sonic."

"Ah! Gotcha!" The downstairs light clicked on, and Tails hopped easily down the stairs. Sonic stood, arms folded, in the hallway, and grinned cheerily at him. "Didn't think I was a burglar, did you?"

Tails smiled back, and said, "Maybe…how come you're here so late?"

"Been following Mecha all day, but I lost him. I was wondering if you had a tracker, or something?"

Tails thought for a second, and murmured, "Well, since he's on your data it'd be difficult…but I think I have something." He turned and began to pad down the hallway. Behind him, Sonic's fur faded away, becoming a pixelated computer image.

Then Sonic leaped and knocked him to the floor. He yelped in surprise as he hit the carpet, knocking his breath away, with the hedgehog on top of him. He dimly noticed that he was much heavier than normal and…made of metal?! "Sonic…what're you-" An entirely different voice cut him off.

"Don't move, fox."

"Mecha!"

The robot made no reply, but yanked his arms back and began tying them with a fine wire. Tails realised he was in deep trouble. "Somebody! Help m-" Metal Sonic immediately pushed his face into the carpet, cutting off his shout.

"Don't want anybody to hear you, do we?"

Tails began screaming into the carpet, wishing it wasn't so thick. Then a heavy blow to the back of his head nearly knocked him out. "I said quiet!" Tails began kicking and whirling his tails, trying to knock the robot away.

In return, Mecha dug his claws into the vulpine's back. Tails gave a muffled whimper and lay still. "Better. Now, lets go pay robotnik a visit."

"Get off him, Mecha!"

The robot stood and turned round slowly, one foot on Tails' back to stop him rising. "Ah, Ssssonic. You're late."

"Let him go!"

Metal Sonic didn't move. Sonic clenched his fists. "I'm warning you, Mecha…" Behind his back, the robot slid a small dart out of his arm panel. Tails, twisting, looked up and saw it, and his eyes went very wide.

"Sonic! Watch ou-" Mecha stamped his face back into the carpet, cutting off the warning, and watched Sonic. The hedgehog was having difficulty controlling his temper.

Suddenly he leaped forward, intending to surprise the robot. In a flash, the robot raised his arm and shot the dart. It hit Sonic directly in the neck and he froze.

"Y-You…" Then his legs gave out and he crumpled to the floor. Mecha stepped forward, looking down at him as he twitched, and kicked him. Sonic shuddered, eyes rolling, but couldn't move.

Tails staggered up and ran for it, breathing ragged. Mecha turned and lazily raced after him, catching him up in the back garden. He reached out and pushed the fox, who fell face-first, unable to use his arms.

As he struggled to get up, Metal Sonic kicked him and hissed, "Nobody escapes me!" Then he grabbed Tails by one tail and dragged him back into the house.

Inside, he threw him down next to Sonic and walked into the kitchen. The blue hedgehog was doing his best to fight the drug, but losing steadily. His eyes were half-lidded, arms and legs twitching, and his fur was flat.

Tails levered himself up onto one elbow, and pulled the empty dart out of Sonic's neck with his teeth. "Sonic, what're we gonna do?" He whispered sadly, unsure whether Sonic could hear him or not.

Mecha walked back in, and grabbed Tails by the scruff of the neck, hauling him up to eye-level. Tails kicked angrily at the robot's front, and got a hit in the face for his trouble.

"Now...you're going to come with me, quietly, or your friend," he jerked his head at Sonic, "will not live to see tomorrow." Tails nodded dumbly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Good."

With that, Metal Sonic slung Sonic over his shoulder, and kicked Tails towards the door. "Walk."


	2. Chapter 2

Chaos: Hi again! Next chapter...no comment.

Flower: 4 reviews already! Thankyou!

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When Sonic awoke again, he was lying on his side on a metal floor. He moaned quietly, trying to calm his spinning head. "Sonic? Are you awake?" Tails' voice cut into his head like a knife.

He groaned and put his hands over his ears. He felt like he had the worst hangover in the world, and had yet to remember exactly what had happened. "Sonic, please..." There was a pleading note in Tails' voice this time.

Forming words took most of his energy. "Whassup?"

"Sonic, you have to get up, please! It's Robotnik, he's got us!"

"Go'way, I'm tired."

"SONIC!"

The shout was agony to his head, and he curled up more. Got by Robotnik? His eyes jammed open, his senses coming to him for the first time. He uncurled and rolled towards Tails' voice.

His head spun dizzyingly afterwards, and he winced unconsciously. When he looked again, he saw Tails, chained to the wall by his wrists. He looked like he was trying not to cry. "What...happened?"

"You remember, Mecha was in my house and he shot you." Sonic sat up, trying not to be sick. Whatever was in that dart was not good for him. He shuffled backwards until he met the wall, and tried to push himself up.

Several times he slipped and collapsed again, and once he nearly passed out. Infuriated by his weakness, he finally managed to stand, trembling so much that he nearly fell again.

Summoning all his remaining strength, he pushed himself along the wall to Tails, and slammed one fist onto the catch-release button. The chains unclicked and Tails dropped to the ground, nearly falling after so long in the air.

"How long...have we been here?" he asked, wishing he had some water. Tails was rubbing his chafed wrists distractedly, and muttered,

"Dunno, I couldn't see my watch. Metal carried you and pushed me all through the night, then dumped us in here. Maybe...six hours?" Sonic groaned, and looked around the cell. It was very different to what he had suspected.

The four walls were all metal, with one heavy-duty door. Steel, maybe. In the low ceiling were several strip lights, embedded in the metal and impossible to break. No natural light entered the room, making it impossible to distinguish between night and day.

Sonic slid down into a sitting position, energy spent. For a long while they both sat there. It was impossible to tell how much time was passing, except for Tails' digital watch, which didn't show PM or AM.

Then the door clicked as a lock was turned, and opened. Sonic and Tails jumped up as Metal Sonic entered the room. His digital eyes lit on Sonic first. "Awake already, Ssssonic? And untied your friend too. You should be punished."

Sonic growled. "Just try it, Mecha!" He knew he wasn't fooling him...he could barely walk. The robot's eyes flashed in amusement, and he advanced with claws ready. At the last second, he spun round and grabbed Tails.

The fox yelled in surprise as Mecha turned him upside-down and locked his ankles in the chains. "Try this way, fox." he said, almost gleefully, as Tails struggled. Then Sonic bashed into him.

He easily knocked away the angry hedgehog, whose legs gave out. He dropped to the floor on his back, and Mecha towered over him again. He started to struggle up, and the robot kicked him.

He let out a quiet gasp as the breath was knocked out of him, along with his strength. Mecha pulled him up by both wrists and then pushed him out of the room, slamming the door and leaving Tails alone.

Sonic was pushed and kicked all the way down several corridors. Left, right, left, left, right again, he lost count and gave up struggling. Finally Mecha hauled him to his feet and pushed open a door.

Inside, Robotnik was sitting in a comfy swivel chair. He leaned back and grinned under his moustache. "Well, well, well. Hello, Sonic. How pleasant to see you again." Then he burst out laughing; moustache twitching and giving the impression that he had a squirrel perched on his face.

Sonic scowled sullenly and said nothing.

"Aren't you going to greet me?"

Still he said nothing.

"Mecha, make him bow." The robot kicked him to the ground and then forced him to kneel before the mad doctor.

"Now, Sonic. Say, 'Robotnik, I am your servant'." Sonic gritted his teeth and said nothing, staring at Robotnik unblinkingly.

"Say it!" Sonic curled his lip in mockery.

Robotnik lost his temper. He signalled to Metal Sonic, who kicked Sonic onto the floor and started to punch him repeatedly. When he had finally finished Sonic lifted his bruised face and resumed staring at the doctor, eyes burning in defiance.

"You can't make me do anything, Egghead."

Robotnik had calmed down surprisingly fast. He grinned confidently, and said, "We will see about that. Behold!" he pointed to the other side of the room, where a large machine stood. In the centre stood a large tube, empty.

"I call it the Robotizer!"

With a small hiss, the tube slid up, and Sonic was pushed inside. Just as quickly, the tube slid down again. Sonic pulled himself up, feeling the first traces of fear. Robotizer?

Above his head, a small disk started to glow brightly. Through the distorted glass, he saw Tails being dragged in by Mecha, probably to witness the spectacle. The entire tube was starting to glow now, surrounding Sonic with light.

He instinctively pulled himself out of the disk's path and pounded on the glass, just as the light grew too bright to see through and an odd tingling filled him. At first it was just like mild pins and needles, then got worse until his fur was crackling with static.

He shut his eyes and tried not to scream.


	3. Chapter 3

Chaos: Ok, now nobody kill me after what happens in this chapter...gulp

Flower: Thankyou for the reviews! Glad to see you like it!

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Outside, Tails struggled desperately against Mecha. "What're you doing?!" he yelled at Robotnik. The doctor merely laughed and said, "Wait and see." The glow was starting to fade from the tube.

Tails stopped struggling to watch as a hedgehog-shape came into view. Well, Sonic couldn't be dead, at least. Then the light had almost faded away and he could see that...he gasped aloud in horror.

Mecha's eyes gleamed.

Two hands were still pressed against the glass, but they were made of metal, with claw-like fingers. Inside the tube stood a robot. Or, more correctly, a half-robot. Robotnik frowned; something must have gone wrong.

Most of Sonic had been robotized, but two spikes, his right ear, and one foot remained normal. Apart from that, he was just like Mecha. Slowly he looked down at himself, digital green eyes flickering wildly.

Tails' mouth was still hanging open in shock. His head was spinning...this couldn't be happening. Slowly the tube hissed up again, just as Sonic's eyes flicked off and he crumpled to the floor.

Robotnik stood, stoking his moustache thoughtfully. Finally he turned to the fox and robot and said, "Mecha, take them back to the cell," then he grinned at Tails, "You're next, fox-boy! Just as soon as I straighten out a few problems."

Mecha strode over and grabbed one of Sonic's arms, then dragged him and Tails out of the room and back to their cell.

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Once again, Sonic woke up with a colossal headache. This time he made no sound, but tried to work out what had happened. He had been in the Robotizer, and the light had gone and he had looked down...

No, no no no. It had to be just some bad dream. He tried to open his eyes...and everything seemed more blurred, almost as though...

No! He slowly started to sit up, feeling as though his limbs were made of lead. He looked down. No, not lead. Some kind of steel. He wasn't thinking properly. It was as though he was watching it happen to somebody else.

No, he wasn't a robot. No, it was just some other hedgehog, not him.

Then he looked around, and saw Tails in a far corner, staring at him with wide eyes.

It was real it was real it was real.

Tails had seen him looking, and was shrinking down more. "Please, please don't hurt me," he was gabbling, "You're my friend, you're Sonic, please please please..."

"Tails." he said, and was horrified to hear it come out monotone, no emotion, just a recorded sound. Tails had stopped muttering instantly, but was still watching. Finally he said,

"You're Sonic, you remember? You don't want to obey Robotnik because he's your worst enemy...please remember!"

"Why wouldn't I remember."

Tails watched him with wide eyes, and said, "You really know me?" What was he talking about?!

"Of course."

Tails breathed a great sigh of relief and relaxed. "Mecha was wrong." he said happily.

"What did Mecha say."

"He said that robotization was the process whereby an animal is coated with metal and has their mind enslaved, and they work for Robotnik mindlessly. Or that's what he hopes."

"As if I'd ever work for Egghead."

Tails suddenly grinned. "Sonic, it really is you in there!" Sonic looked down at his metal body with disgust, and said, "Yes." Tails had left the corner and was coming towards him.

"They didn't chain me up, I think they hoped you would attack me...you won't, right?"

"Of course not. They can't take me over that easily."

"Wow, Sonic. You sound really...different."

"I hate this. I'm a...freak." He looked at his metal claws, and suddenly felt like hitting something. He turned and thumped the wall as hard as he could, only succeeding in hurting his hand under its metal coating.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh." he yelled, the sound coming out blankly, just at high volume. Tails backed away in sudden worry, and Sonic began hurtling round and round the room, crashing into the walls, trying to run out of the metal, out of the trap, back to himself.

Eventually his energy ran out and he dropped to his hands and knees. He couldn't change his expression, couldn't shut his eyes properly, couldn't laugh, couldn't even cry. Did Metal Sonic feel like this? Of course, he was entirely robotic, whereas Sonic just was on the surface.

He hated everything about it...the way his fingers were claws, the way his voice came out expressionless, even the way he was partly normal. He couldn't even be like a robot...

Be like a robot?

"Tails...I have a plan."


	4. Chapter 4

Chaos: Good, good, nobody hates me for what I did last chapter. Oh, by the way, it only gets worse...eheh. Oh, go ahead and flame if you want to...I'll just get traumatized and stop updating.

Flower: Mmm...trauma...

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It was two hours later that Sonic stood before Robotnik again, Mecha's red eyes flashing by the door. The doctor folded his arms. "Tell me who you are."

Sonic replied monotonely, "I live to serve Dr. Robotnik's command." For once he was glad that his face could show no expression. Robotnik rubbed his hands together gleefully.

"It worked!" he crowed. In the doorway, Metal Sonic was fixing his eyes on the two non-metal spines on Sonic's back. He wasn't so sure.

Robotnik twirled his moustache thoughtfully. "From now on you will be known as Cinos, and will serve only me, nobody else. Do you understand?" The doctor grinned at his own intelligence in reversing Sonic's name.

"Yes, Master."

"Now, your first task is to bring me the fox from the cell you were in earlier. Did you harm him?"

"Not much, Master."

"Good. Go, now. Mecha, follow him."

Sonic, or Cinos, left the room with Metal Sonic close behind, the robot still glaring suspiciously at him.

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Tails shut his eyes in preparation, and thumped himself hard on the arm. He bit his lip to keep from crying out, and looked down to where a bruise was starting to form. He looked over the other self-inflicted cuts and bruises on himself, and nodded in satisfaction.

That should be enough.

A moment later the door unlocked, and the vulpine huddled into the corner, knuckling his eyelids to make the tears come. Two hedgehog shapes were framed in the doorway, one with glowing green eyes, and one with red.

"You will come with me." Sonic's new voice said as he stepped into the room and grabbed Tails by one arm. One of his glowing eyes flicked on and off in a wink as he dragged Tails into the corridor.

Tails saw Mecha and snivelled pathetically as he was dragged down the corridors towards the room. But the robot was ignoring him, staring fixatedly at Cinos' back.

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What followed for Tails was not pleasant, but even worse for Cinos, who was forced to watch by one side, and even participate in the torture sometimes. When, finally, Tails was thrown back in his cell at the end of each day, Cinos wanted to run and run and run, and get away from everything.

He wanted to stop calling Robotnik 'Master'. He wanted Mecha to stop following him everywhere, so that he couldn't visit Tails to cheer him up. He wanted to stop hurting his friend. He wanted to go home.

But, most of all, he wanted the metal off.

It was affecting his head. He was finding it hard to remember his name...his friend's faces were fading in his mind. He had forgotten how to smile or frown. And he had only been there for two weeks.

It felt like his entire life.

He had to get OUT.

Then finally, his chance came, three weeks later, along with a new radio chip that was inserted into his metal ear. Robotnik's voice buzzed through, startling him.

"Cinos, now's your chance to shine. We have intruders in the base, and Mecha needs back up. Section 3B."

He replied with a, "Yes, Master." and hurried towards it. When he rounded the last corner, he almost ran smack into a pink hedgehog. Her name came floating to him, though he couldn't remember her from anywhere.

"...Amy."

"Mecha!"

"I am not Mecha." She was backing away suspiciously, already pulling out her large hammer.

"Who are you, then? Another hedgehog robot?"

"I have been robotized. I am..." he had forgotten his real name. In sudden panic, he thumped at his forehead. What was it? What was it?! "I am...Cinos." he said finally, accepting the name.


	5. Chapter 5

Chaos: Review responses!

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Sonic/anime: Scared? Already? You ain't seen nothing yet! Heheheheh...

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Namelessmoonshine: Wait, how can you be nameless if your name is moonshine? Oh, err, response, erm...no, I've not heard the name Cinos before...

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KellyR: Glad you like it. (bobs) Thankees!

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star's dreams: Hi! I like your name! Hehe. Glad you are liking of the story.

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N.Harmonic: Haha, you're predicting the plot already! Oh, and about Shax...I've heard that name somewhere...but no, I never heard Cinos before, as I mentioned earlier.

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Kirbs: Yep, Sonic's really in for it. Mwahahahahah.

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Ladymecha: Hiya! Oh, the Cinos thing I wrote on an impulse...but thanks all the same! Reviews always appreciated.

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Spawn of 84: Hey, did you notice that you and Kirbyboth wrote 'feel my wrath' in your reviews? This is not making me feel relaxed! But, but, don't stop reviewing! (gulp)

Flower: Sooo, on with the story! With thanks to Az the Dragon for giving me inspiration without realising...you rock, Az!

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Amy was still glaring. "What are you here for, Cinders?"

"I am Cinos. I am here to intercept intruders." No, no, that was wrong! That was what Master, err, Robotnik, had told him to do. But he always did what Master said? No, it was to cover up...something...

"Are you ok?" She was frowning slightly, eyes suddenly fixated on his normal ear.

"I am fine."

"Where are Sonic and Tails?"

Sonic...? He knew only Tails, currently in his cell. Sonic...? Then a pair of red eyes appeared around the corner. Metal Sonic was sneaking up behind Amy. He looked at Cinos suspiciously, wondering why he wasn't attacking.

Sonic...?

He heard himself saying, "I cannot tell you where Tails is."

"Then where's Sonic?"

Sonic...? Mecha had paused, waiting for his response. It was a while coming.

"There is no Sonic here. You are an intruder. I must take you to Master." She didn't appear to be listening.

"What's with your ear?"

She was starting to worry him. He outstretched his claws, and said, "You will come with me." She backed away a step, and Metal Sonic's eyes gleamed ruthlessly. At that moment, another being ran around the corner, barrelling straight into Mecha.

He was a hedgehog, black with red streaks, Cinos noticed. He didn't recognise him. Mecha had toppled forward in surprise, and was in a losing position, pinned to the floor by the hedgehog's weight. Cinos looked at Amy, running around the corner. Escaping.

The intruding hedgehog…atop Mecha, tying to prise away the control panel, blocking the passageway. Amy…escaping. He moved suddenly towards the black hedgehog, which looked up at him in surprise.

Then he had kicked it in the face and jumped over. Mecha could deal with it now. He raced around after Amy through two corridors, and collided with yet another animal. It was a red echidna this time, and they both fell in a heap.

He stopped and looked at its fist, held an inch in front of his eyes. "Don't move." the echidna warned. He froze, kneeling on the floor. Somehow the echidna had regained its footing, and was staring at his uncovered spines with a strange expression.

"...Sonic?"

"I am Cinos."

"Are you a robot?"

"No. I have been robotized."

"What's that?"

Cinos dimly remembered an explanation. The fox...Tails...had said it, a long while ago. He repeated the half-remembered words back to the echidna.

"Robotisization is the process whereby an animal is coated with metal and has their mind enslaved, and they work for Robotnik mindlessly." The echidna paused for a moment, its expression changing from wariness to confusion, and then to horror.

"Oh my god! Sonic, what has he done to you?"

"I am Cinos. You are an Intruder...I must take you to Master."

"...I don't believe this. Did Tails get robota...robotiz...thingy too?"

"Not yet."

"Where is he?!"

"I cannot tell you where Tails is. You are an Intruder. I must take you to Master."

The echidna's jaw set. "I'd like to see you try, Sonic. You couldn't beat me before, and you can't now."

"I am CINOS." he yelled, leaping up. He caught the echidna by surprise and it tripped, and slid down the metal floor of the corridor. Cinos landed, and raced away, back to Master.

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Chaos: Y'know, I actually felt sick writing that last sentence...ah well.

Flower: Welp, the next chapter will be up the moment I think people are grovelling enough! Or in a week if I get no reviews...(shifty eyes)


	6. Chapter 6

Chaos: Welp, I've decided to do Review Responses every chapter now! Cuz I get lotsa reviews...hehe...thank you everyone!

Flower: (bounce bounce) Yeah, I'm officially addicted to reviews! Reviewreviewreview! Hehe.

**LadyMecha: **You bet he's close to gone! In fact, he's so close that he...ah...erm...he's...oh, forget it.

**KellyR: **Err, yees, there's a good ending. That's right. Very happy. (shifty eyes) Ah, just kidding! (smile)

**Kirbs: **Hee, lookit! I call you Kirbs now! Oh, err, yeah, poor Sonic...shame I love torturing him, eh? Actually, he's relatively lucky right now...much worse to come. Ah HA HA HA HA! Ahem.

**Spawn of 84: **Wow, thanks! Hehe...and see, lookit, I updated! DON'T HURT MEEE!

**Bryon Nightshade: **Wow, I never expected to see you here! Ah, and I do know about Robotization...but note, not all of Sonic is robotized, and he retains his free will. Or so it seems. (evil laugh) Yeah, and sorry if I seem a bit repetitive. I try not to be. Oh, and in the last chapter Cinos kicked Knuckles away down the hallway and ran for it. Go Cinos!

**NamelessMoonshine: **You only have one brain, eh? Can I borrow it? (wink) Oh, and you'll notice that nobody actually fought back against Cinos, Shadow got flattened and Knuckles threatened him, then got flattened. Heheheh. I'm liking Cinos! Maybe I'll leave him like that...

**Sonic/Anime: **Yeah, Sonic is so CUTE! (drool) Wow, I'm glad he can't hear me saying this...let alone know that it's MY fault that he's Robotized and...ah, shutting up now before Fate gets any ideas. Hee.

**Tarem: **Hi! New person! Always glad to hear from you! Hehe. See, I update sooner when people review! (looks around meaningfully)

**star's dreams: **Ooh, I remember, you're the one with the nice name. Rock on! Anywho, Sonic and Knux don't always fight. In fact, in this story I wrote the other day they...ah, well...shutting up now. Don't want to give anything away. (gulp)

**Az:** (dodges pointy sticks) Well, hellooo. Wasn't sure if you were reading this. Well, I've actually hit a huge Writer's Block at aound chapter 30.(hides behind chair) Stop using my pointy sticks! Get your own odd weapon! Like cheese or, I dunno, lollipops...or bubblewrap! Oh, getting carried away again...

Flower: Wow, most of this chapter is review responses! At this rate I'll never post it! Well, then again...that might not be a terrible thing and- ah, what am I saying? Read on and enjoy!

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"Cinos, where are the Intruders?" Robotnik's voice was deadly calm, ready to explode at any minute.

"They escaped, Master."

"Why? Tell me exactly what happened."

So Cinos related the whole story, pausing every now and then to register Master's reaction. So far, so good. In fact, when he finished, Robotnik burst out laughing.

"Oh, this is perfect! Just perfect! Ah, if only the Robotizer was working properly, then the fox would be on our side too..."

"Yes, Master."

"Hmm...go and check on the fox, would you? Give it some water or something, I don't want it to die while we wait."

"Yes, Master."

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Tails looked up as the door opened. Weeks of punishment and barely any food had made him very thin, and his face had a gaunt look. Without hope. However, when he saw who stood in the doorway, his eyes lit up.

"Is Mecha with you?" he asked quickly, as Cinos put down a flask of water and a bread crust.

"No."

Tails frowned a little; the answer was far simpler than he had expected. "What happened earlier? I heard shouting."

"There were Intruders."

"Who were they?"

The list was repeated back to him emotionlessly. "Amy, a black hedgehog, a red echidna, a white rabbit, and a white bat. They escaped." Tails felt like someone had hit him in the face.

"Sonic...what about the plan?"

"I am Cinos."

"Please, tell me you haven't forgotten...please!"

"What do you mean."

"You remember? You're Sonic, and we were captured and brought here,"

For once Cinos ignored the Sonic reference, listening to the story. "Then you got taken to the Robotizer? And you were going to pretend to be enslaved so that we could escape?"

For a long moment neither one said anything. Finally the robot-hedgehog hybrid said,

"My name is Cinos."

Then the door slammed shut.

Tails broke down in hopeless tears.

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"Master, the prisoner is confusing me."

"What do you mean?"

"He talks about someone called Sonic. He says that's who I am. He wants me to help him."

Robotnik turned and studied Cinos for a long moment. "You are not to go near the prisoner again. He is trying to confuse you. Since Mecha is repairing, you may take over his patrols. If you see any of the Intruders, you are to injure them and bring them to me."

Cinos bowed, a trick he had learned recently from watching Mecha.

"Yes, Master."

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Knuckles ran a hand over his face, thinking longingly of his bed on Angel Island in the sky far ahead. He looked over the allied group before him, all in different stages of exhaustion.

From Shadow, who never seemed to need any sleep...weirdo...down to Cream, whose head was almost touching the table it was dipping so far. He cleared his throat loudly to get their attention.

"Right, I think you all know why we're here-"

"To play bingo?" Rouge muttered rebelliously, attracting sniggers from around the table. She had been the hardest to persuade, when he had been getting help. He cast the bat a killer glare and continued,

"We have good news and bad news, after checking out Egghead's base. First, the good news. Sonic and Tails are both...err...alive, as such. Tails is being kept somewhere to wait to be robotis-a-thingy-"

"It's robotized."

"Whatever. Now the bad news. Sonic has already been ro-bot-ized," he glared at Amy, who looked innocently at the ceiling, "Though I don't think it worked too well. But now, he serves Robotnik and goes by the name of Cinos-"

"It's Sonic backwards."

"Thank you, Amy," Knuckles hissed, giving her another killer look, "And we may or may not be able to save him. Now, any ideas?" The Chaotix immediately started whispering, and the entire table was thrown into disarray.

Knuckles put a hand to his forehead and groaned. Then Rouge stood up and said, "Right. Shut up, all of you. All write down what you think we should do and give them to me. THEN we will decide what to do."

Slightly surprised by her commanding, Knuckles started handing out paper. In his seat next to the bat, Shadow sniggered quietly.

A few minutes later, Cream was sucking the end of her pencil, and wondering how to spell 'rescue'. Her crumpled paper already read; 'Go to the bayse and find Sonnic and Tails and resk' when she looked out of the window.

Her scream brought everyone running. "Mecha! Outside the window!!!" Forgetting the paper and planning, the entire group ran for the door or, in the case of Charmy, jumped out of the window.

........................................................................

Chaos: (gags) Ick, ick, I'll never get used to writing Sonic obeying Robotnik...

Flower: (bounce) Another chapter done! Phwee! See you next time, and hope you liked it! Of course, I'm just sucking up to get reviews...go on, you know you want to! Just click that purple button right there...(bows)


	7. Chapter 7

Chaos: I'm ba-ack!!! And to make up for the long break…mmm, holiday…here's a four-page chapter. Bwahahahahah! Glad to see everybody still likes this…it gets real complicated soon…

Flower: (dances) Waii! Review responses!

**Nunyabisnis: **Waii! New reviewer! Well, if you feel sorry for Sonic now, then better prepare yourself…upcoming chapters are, well, not good for him. Eheheheh.

**Sky Aura: **Ah, don't worry, I've read loads of stories without reviewing…I like that you can have loads of reviews, and even more people reading and not reviewing. Hehe. As for 'Mecha', if it was just a robot it would be a Mech...and you're, Mecha is in repairs...you'll see who it is soon enough.

**Fuwa2 Kyara: **Oh, Mecha isn't going to do anything. Heh heh heh. Read on!

**Mythica Ruathahold: **Hey! Nice to see you here. Pickles, eh? See, I've never really liked pickles that much…(dodges cheese cannon)

**Chaolovin': **Now why wouldn't I make a happy ending? (whistles) Anywho, you like neopets, right? Rock on!

**Tarem:** Aha! Somebody spotted the loop! You'll remember that Robotnik said Mecha was in repairs…you can see what's coming, right? (wink)

Flower: How many reviews are there?! These responses will take up all the chapter! But, err, carry on! I like de reviewingness…mmm…so, onwards…mind you, these responses are gonna get shorter; they take up too much space. (sniffle)

**Az: **Waii! You're still here! I'll be a-writing the thirtieth chapter now…or I'll try. Something often comes to me while I write. You?

**Spawn of 84: **Hi again! I'm now updating alotalot, don't worry!

**KellyR:** Waii! Thankyou! And I mean it…this story isn't my best. The best one is sitting in my computer…but enough of that! Ahem.

**Kirbs: **Aaw, don't be mean to Amy…much. She's ok, I suppose…I like all the characters really. I try to have unbiased writing, but sometimes it's a bit Sonic-and-Knuckles…

**NM:** Oh, it was only fluke that Sonic won. And he didn't win really. Don't hurt me, Shadow! (hides)

**star's dreams: **Oh, Mecha has a bigger part soon…and you're pretty close with what you said…(wink)

**Ladymecha: **Eheheheheh, what can I say? I love screwing with Sonic's head.

Flower: And, FINALLY, on with the story! Phew, that took a while…read on!

…………………………………………………………….

Cinos hurtled away, heart pounding. The house was on the outskirts of the town, just on the border of his patrol, and he had seen the lights...at twelve-o-clock midnight. Now they were all chasing him, and his breath was quick with fear.

Suddenly something dived out of the darkness and knocked him over. He rolled away, briefly recognising the black hedgehog, an Intruder, before he scrambled up and bashed into something else.

Something invisible.

He cried out in surprise, and searched around. There was nothing there. But, even as he thought it, something hit him in the backspines. He spun round, and there was nothing there either.

Suddenly animals were appearing out of the darkness everywhere. He recognized several Intruders, but even more that he didn't know. Behind him, Espio uncamouflaged and tackled him to the floor.

Then they were everywhere, standing around him, and he heard one say, "It's not Mecha...it's Sonic! Look, green eyes." Terror crawled up and down his spine and he whimpered,

"Master, help me." Then everything went dark.

Knuckles pushed Rouge and Vector out of the way and kneeled down to Cinos' blank eyes. "He's passed out." he clarified, lifting the robotized hedgehog easily. "Come on, let's get back. Forget planning, we need a new strategy now."

When Cinos awoke again, he immediately looked around the room. It looked like a bedroom, easily escapable. Then he looked again and realised the window frames has been replaced by steel.

He walked silently to the door, but it was locked. He walked back to the bed restlessly, searching for any way out. Then he heard a click as the door was unlocked, and voices beyond.

"I tell you, I heard something!"

"Well, I didn't."

"You question my hearing, echidna?"

"Well, I-"

"You can't even SEE your ears!"

"Rouge! Open the door already!"

"Yeesh Knuckles. Temper, temper."

Then the door was pushed open. Cinos curled his claws, ready to fight, but when he saw the echidna, he paused. It was strong...and the bat was there too. He couldn't fight them both.

"What do you want with me."

The echidna...Knuckles?...strode forward, the bat, Rouge, guarding the door. "We want to save you, Sonic."

"I am Cinos."

"Who were you before you were robotized?"

"I...I do not remember. Master says I am Cinos."

"Yes, you do remember, deep down. You've just forgotten most of it. And we want to help you, ok? It's not like you to just give in to this..."

"You are Intruders. You will not help me, you will confuse me like the fox did."

Knuckles exchanged helpless looks with Rouge. He tried a new tactic. "When is Tails getting robotized?"

"When the robotizer is ready."

Rouge smirked, and sniggered, "Heh. I took care of that machine for a while. It won't be doing anything for a month at least."

Suddenly Cinos felt unbearably helpless. He didn't know these people, and they expected him to remember something that he had long forgotten? How could he even know to trust them? It was so confusing...

"Let me go."

"Sorry, Sonic, but we can't do that. Not until you're better."

"I am not Sonic. My name is Cinos. I am perfectly healthy."

"Underneath all that metal?"

"Yes."

Knuckles groaned and rubbed his forehead distractedly. From the door, Rouge asked, "Do you know who Sonic is?"

"...No."

"Sonic is...was...you, before you were robotized. That's why we call you Sonic...we want you as you were before being robotized. Does that help?"

"I like the way I am now."

"Do you know what it's like to be free?"

"I am free."

"Following orders from Egghead?"

"Who is Egghead." At this remark, a peal of helpless laughter came from the stairs. Rouge's face lost the calm mask, and she disappeared down the stairs with angry shouts of,

"You idiots! How dare you listen in?! I'll get you, just you wa- come back here!" The shouts faded away to the rest of the house, and Knuckles sighed in annoyance. Cinos rubbed his normal ear confusedly.

"What was that sound."

"Hmm?"

"Outside. Before the bat ran off."

"Laughter?!"

"What is that."

Knuckles paused for a second, and then said exasperatedly, "I can't do this. I can't MAKE you remember, Sonic...please, just try." With that he left the room and locked the door securely.

Cinos didn't know what to think. Master had been good, hadn't he? But these people were good too, they wanted to help him...

But he didn't need help. He was happy with Master and Mecha, though hurting the fox...Tails...didn't always feel right. It was like someone had taken his home and rubbed it away.

Free? With these people, the Intruders, he was locked up. With Master he was free. Yet there was always a little part of him, inside his head, which seemed to be blocked, like a little wall. Whatever was behind it was important, he knew.

He shook his head helplessly, and looked around the room again. On a small desk was a pen pot, with a few pencils inside. Maybe he could write something? He reached over, but his claws chopped the first pencil in half.

Worried, he tried to pick up another, but it, too, cracked when he touched it. How could he know how to write if he couldn't even hold a pencil?

Sonic...Cinos...he didn't know what to think.

…………………………………………………………

Flower: Heheheheheheh, I'm evil, ne? I'll update again soon…see you all next chapter! Waii!


	8. Chapter 8

Chaos: I'm sorry, I don't think anybody looked at my bio, where it said I would be **on holiday for the next two weeks**? Which is why I wasn't updating. Pfff. Anywho, you know the drill by now…

**KellyR -** Ah, now you're embarrassing me…it's only good when I get inspiration! Like, err, now…

**oracle apprentice – **Well, here's the chapter…what can I say?

**Kirbs – **(gasp) You use my word! Tis mine, ne? As for hating Amy…guess I can't change your mind about that!

**Mythica – **Can I call you that? Y'know, I prefer the Weyrs, not the holds, but…oh, getting off track. Glad you like it!

**atomcrossex – **Heh heh, just read this chapter an you'll see why you're right…

**star's dreams – **Can I call you SD? Heh…well, I aim to be a mix of angst and humour…makes a good story, I think.

**Az** – Oh, new stuff is a long way away…as for the sequel….blegh. Discontinued for now.

**Ladymecha – **I'm not gonna drop this story anytime soon…see above!

**Tarem – **Yup. He's certainly _trying_…heh heh.

**chaolovin' – **O.O No, there I actually a happy ending…well, sort of. Don't hurt meee!

**Spawn of 84 – **Hey, I update quite often compared to _others_! You know who you are, others! … (shifts eyes)

……………………………………………

Mecha had just finished repairing and was stepping out of the machine when Robotnik stormed round the corner, face almost purple. Mecha took it as a serious danger sign, and he would normally slink away, but he had been seen already.

"They got Cinos!"

"Who, Master?"

"Knuckles and his lot, I think...his radio cut out. Mecha, go and get him." Metal Sonic winced at the thought of actually helping Cinos, who he felt slightly resentful of, but knew better than to argue with the doctor.

He bowed quickly and slunk from the room.

……………………………………….

Cream looked around furtively, then crept up the last of the stairs, prize clutched tightly in Cheese's paw. She reached the door, and motioned to the chao, who hovered up, jingling the keys excitedly.

She took them, and with one last glance around the silent hall, unlocked the door. Cinos was sitting on the bed, eyes blank. She crept in and shut the door with a quiet click.

Cheese hovered up to the metal face, bobbing her head curiously. Cream turned around and hissed, "Cheese! Get back here…I think he's sleeping."

"No, I am thinking."

Cream jumped nearly a foot, and squeaked, "Aah! Don't DO that!"

"Do what."

For a second, Cream puzzled over the words, then realised it was a question. With no emotion in his voice, it was hard to tell.

"You scared me!"

"Why."

"Because I thought you were asleep…"

"I do not sleep."

"You used to, all the time…guess you're catching up." Cream giggled at her joke, and Cinos' eyes flicked on, shining bright green.

"Are you laughing."

"Yeah…I made a joke!"

"…joke."

Cream blinked at him, and murmured, "Wow…you're really different." A sudden voice from downstairs startled her, and she looked around warily, Cheese zooming around their heads.

"Are you scared again."

"A bit…"

"Why."

"I'm not supposed to be in here…"

"Why not."

"They think you might be…dangerous."

"Maybe I might be."

Cream stuttered out, "W-what?" Cinos' eyes flashed.

"I made a joke."

Cream giggled uncertainly, then burst out laughing. She dropped onto the soft bed beside him, and said, "Wow…you're not so different after all!" Then another voice from the stairs made her twitch. "Maybe I should…go. Am I bothering you?"

She was already up and edging towards the door.

"No." he said hastily, cursing the lack of emotion, "I like having someone to talk to." She smiled in relief and walked back to him. Then a face appeared in the window.

Mecha was clinging to the damp, ivy-encrusted wall with difficulty, having to dig his claws right in to hold his place. Through the glowing window, he could see Cinos, and the rabbit...Cream?

He looked at the bars in annoyance.

_Scanning…_

_Barrier identified as steel alloy._

_Selecting suitable weapon…_

_Selected weapon56 titaniumbuzzsaw. _

_Initiating program…_

The circular saw slid out of his wrist and began buzzing quietly. In minutes he had cut through and twisted the bars away.

He checked on them; still talking, they hadn't noticed anything. He climbed up as high as he could, praying that they wouldn't look at the window, and steadied himself on the ledge.

The window shattered loudly, sending pieces of glass across the room. Cinos threw an arm in front of Cream to shield her, and snapped his head to the window. Mecha stood among the remains, bright eyes glaring.

"Cinos. Master commands that you come with me, and bring any hostages you can." His eyes briefly alighted on Cream, looking around the side of the bed. Cinos followed his gaze, and Cream whimpered slightly. Cinos paused, unsure. For a moment the thought flashed across his mind, beyond his control;

_Primary objective: obey Master. Object 'Metal Sonic' – response unknown._

But he had no time to worry about it as Mecha bristled and commanded, "Get the rabbit, and come with me!"

"…No."

"What?"

"She is my friend. I will not take her."

"Then I will!" Mecha leaped towards Cream, who darted behind the bed. The robot swiped round with his claws, and Cheese darted into his face. Footsteps pounded on the stairs.

Mecha knocked away the chao easily, and eyed the door furiously. Cinos stood in the middle, unsure of what to do. Mecha darted round the bed and grabbed Cream. Then he looked to Cinos and shouted,

"Come now! Master commands it!" Then he leaped out of the window. Cinos followed, but not because of the command. Because he had heard Cream screaming.


	9. Chapter 9

Chaos: Phew! Finally got this done...I edited a lot in this chapter - be more interesting for you, Az, right? - so sorry for the long wait. And hey, guess what? There's a piccy of me'n Flower on DeviantArt now! See it at

www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 10736406

(Delete spaces in URL...wouldn't show up otherwise...(sweatdrop))

Spawn of 84 - Here's the next update...bit longer than normal...(gulp)

Az - I wouldn't eat keyboards, they're a bit crunchy. Anywho how far did you get on in this story? Write in your review but...try not to give it away?

Sky Aura - SOMEBODY NOTICED! Welp, got that off my chest. Hope you like this chapter. As for being MM sequel...no, it doesn't really fit. I did consider it though.

Kirbs - Ok, welp, I forgive you this time. Make up some words of your own, ne?

chaolovin' - ...a short response for a short review...hehe.

NM - You're still here! w00t! I was getting worried there...

el the echidna - Ooh, new reviewer! Hi! Well, sorry it's confusing...the really confusing bit hasn't even started yet...(gulp)

Tarem - Cute, eh? Thanks! It's not always that cute...but I try!

KellyR - Who are you on DeviantArt? Mmm...Mitsuka? Hehehe.

Chibi Yoshi (!) - CHIBI! Hooray! I thought you'd died or something...(sniff) Anywho, yes, I love Pern. Especially Ruth! (hug) As for the M of M approach...well, I was kinda waiting for somebody to notice that. (sweatdrop) No, when I said 'others' I meant 'others'...or something. I have no idea what I meant. (nervous laugh)

N. Harmonik - 'tis an interesting approach but...the story is a little different. (sweatdrop) Read on!

SD - w00t! SD is easier to type anyway. As for Sonic finding a way around Eggman's commands...I don't think he's realised what they are yet...ah, I can't explain, you'll see in the chapter!

Mythica - Haven't read any Pern books?! My heart breaks for you! The Weyrs are where the dragons live. (wink) As for Son- err, Cinos (how could _I_ forget that?!) Yes, he does save Cream. Did I just give it away? Well, it says in the first few lines anyway...

Flower: Waii! I love all you reviewers! (hugs) Right, so, err, here's the chapter! If I get any more reveiws, I'll have to make these chapters longer, else it'll all be review responses...(sweatdrop) Ah, not to give you any ideas! (gulp)

Mighty smashed through the door and took in the overturned furniture, the broken window, and the dazed Cheese beside the bed. "We're too late…" he groaned. Then crashes began coming from outside the window.

………………………………

Cinos smashed Mecha in the face with his claws, knocking the robot over. Cream struggled free and dashed towards the house, as Mecha jumped up easily and advanced upon Cinos.

"Traitor!" he hissed, "You dare to fight me?!" Cinos backed away, drawing him away from the house. Then he turned and ran flat-out. Mecha activated his jet engine and knocked him to the ground easily.

"With that metal on, you cannot run half as fast as you used to!" the robot crowed. Cinos struggled underneath him, trying to free himself, and wondering how to fight the robot.

Weapon inventory - empty. Fighting strategy - unknown.

The strange, computed commands flashed through his head again. _What IS that?!_ He wondered desperately, trying to keep his attention on Metal Sonic.

'What is that' - command unknown.

Mecha slashed his free spikes, drawing blood, and laughed as Cinos cried out. Then he reached forward and dug both diamond-tipped claws into his neck, piercing the metal.

"You will die!" he shouted. Cinos wriggled, and managed to roll onto his back, knocking the robot off-balance. Then he kicked up, and Mecha jumped back, hissing.

"Not so stupid as you look, then." Cinos was panting inside the metal, and knew he was losing easily. Mecha paused a moment - wondering what Robotnik would say if he admitted to killing Cinos - then offered a hand, and said, "Come back with me, now, and we will forget this little fight?"

Cinos paused; it was a tempting offer. "Or," Mecha continued, "Would you rather stay with them?" He pointed over the hedgehog's shoulder, and Cinos turned to see the animals dashing towards them, faces twisted with hate.

He backed away in horror, and turned to Mecha, whose eyes flashed. The deal was done. In seconds he was away in the darkness, Metal Sonic cruising easily by his side.

………………………………………………..

Knuckles lengthened his stride, signalling to Shadow to run ahead, and called, "They're getting away! Hurry!"

………………………………………………..

Cinos was panting weakly, trying to ignore the message that flashed in his mind again and again.

Warning!

Energy level - critical.

Mecha turned to face him and said, "Hurry up! They are following!" Cinos sighed in exasperation, and called,

"The metal is…slowing me…down." He looked over his shoulder, and saw several animals pursuing. How did they run so fast?! Mecha hissed up next to him, and sneered,

"Are any of these your friends?" He was mocking, but Cinos shook his head anyway. Metal drew a gun out of his arm, and aimed.

"We fight."

Then he fired the gun. The chameleon looked up at the sound of the hissing shot, an instant before it hit him. He was sent flying backwards with a yell, electricity coursing around in paralysing jolts.

Amy skidded to a halt to look back, and Cinos jumped at her, claws outstretched. He had time to slash her once before the black and red hedgehog smashed into him. He tumbled backwards, and the hedgehog bounded over him to Mecha.

Then he heard more shouts…the others! Fear jabbed him; they would tear him apart. He started to sit up, when Amy's hammer smashed into his face with a clang. Stars exploded across his sight as he fell back, and he dimly saw her hovering over him with a worried expression.

There were funny lines running across his vision, and his eyes were burning in protest. He weakly tried to slash her, but missed by a mile.

Energy level - criticaaaaaaaa...

The mechanical voice droned away mid-word. He dimly heard her say,

"Oh, Cinders, sorry, I broke your eyes…"

In reply he murmured, "I am not Cinders, I am…I am…Sonic."


	10. Chapter 10

Chaos: Phew, sorry for the wait. Really busy over here and not much time for writing.

Spawn of 84 - (hugs) Yay! You're not threatening meeeee!

Kirbs - Shocked? Hey, I was shocked when I wrote that. I read over it and my eyes popped...I think some kind of writing madness took over. (sweatdrop)

Tarem - (embarrassed) We-ell, I could have updated earlier...but I was busyyyyy!

SD - Welp, that's the effect I like to create. (thumbs-up)

Az - I get you. Well, that bit is...a good few chapters away. Say...five? (laughs nervously) As for MSN...my evenings are getting really hectic. I'll try to come on though. Hehe...I like talking to you.

KellyR - Oh, you can dance if you like. Everybody dances! (dances) Hehe. Glad you like! Not my best story though...or, I dunno, maybe...stop confusing me! (falls over)

El - Can I call you El? Anywho...(gives aspirin) I hope tis not that confusing!

Kit - Wow, I nearly forgot! (smacks forehead) Thanks for reminding me! Now I have another bit to write...(hugs)

Sky Aura - You'll see. But I think you'll like it. Hee.

NM - Have you been at the sugar again? Have some shame! (gives shame) Here, have some of mine...now I won't feel so bad about not updating! Everybody wins! (dances)

Dr. Sipp - (eyes bug out) Wow! I never thought I'd actually get a review from you! (faints and wakes up in quick succession) Err, anywho...hi! I'm glad you like this...I just loved the Robotizer (Or IS it robotisizer?) aspect and decided to write about it. This story is a sort of mixture of lots of different Sonic universes. Sort of. (sweatdrop) As for spelling/grammar...well, sometimes I get so carried away that I forget to check it through...(hides)

Flower: Wow, looks like this story is getting quite popular! (hugs all reviewers) I love you ALLLLLLL!

Chaos: Hoo boy. Here we go...it's Maze of Memories all over again.

Flower: And by the way, if Fanfiction trying to ruin all the story formatting?! I can't leave rows of full stops anymore! (sobs)

_randomwordstocreateagapbetweentimespaces_

Amy looked at him in shock, and then the others were everywhere and he heard Mecha call out for help. An unfamiliar face hovered above his, pushing Amy away…a reptile of some kind. A crocodile?

Then he was hauled to his feet. He wobbled unsteadily, still confused by his last response. Sonic? That was before Robotization. But…surely he could still be Sonic if he wanted? Was that what he wanted?

Serving Master…he had never heard laughter. He liked the sound, but had never heard it himself there. And something about helping Master…Robotnik…was wrong. There was that strange voice in his head, as though he was talking to a computer...though it hadn't made an appearance since he had been hit in the face. He suddenly realised someone was talking to him.

"Sonic! Sonic! Hello, you in there? Talk to me!" He tried to turn his eyes on, but they didn't work. Still, he could dimly see through…was it some sort of glass? In horror, he realised it must be his outer shell.

Yes, he was covered in metal. Inside…he was the same person. The same Sonic. He didn't need to be different...he didn't need to obey Robuttnik! How could he have forgotten that?! His head hurt. "I'm…ok." he muttered, trying to make out who was talking to. It was…Knuckles?

"Not hurt badly, are you?"

Yes, it was definitely Knuckles. "Not like you to care." he replied. Knuckles was smiling, it looked like, he must have seen something in his eyes behind the smashed glass, or just somehow knew.

"You remember now?"

"It must have been the shock of seeing your face." He said, wishing he could smile. Knuckles grinned at him, and seemed about to say something, when a cry made them both jump.

"What the-? Oh damn, robots!" Sonic turned to see, but couldn't see anything, just the grey hillside leading up to the base, and- No, not hillside. It was robots. The hill was entirely covered with robots.

He felt Knuckles dragging him along, heard him yell, "Tranquillisers! Run, everyone!" He was being dragged faster, and could hear Knuckles panting in his good ear.

"Knuckles…run for it. They won't…shoot me." His electronic voice was patchy, a buzzing in his ears. Knuckles was shaking his head before he finished,

"No, Sonic. We don't know that. Can you walk? You are NOT going back to Robuttnik again." He wasn't strong enough to argue, and tried to stumble along. Then he heard a hissing behind them as darts were fired.

"Knuckles, get down now." Knuckles must have sensed some kind of urgency, for he threw himself down. Sonic swung around and took the darts to his body, arms outspread as they clattered off harmlessly.

From beyond him he heard cries of surprise, quickly turning to groans and silence. After the first volley, he pulled Knuckles up and they ran, stumbling over the unconscious bodies of their friends.

Rouge, Shadow, Vector, Charmy, Cream, Espio, Amy...it seemed that they had all been hit.

Knuckles tugged at Sonic's arm, nearly pulling him over. "We have to help them!"

"No, we can't. We can't fight them all off. If we escape we can rescue them later." Knuckles opened his mouth to argue, then yelped and fell. Sonic looked down and dimly saw Mecha slashing at Knuckles' legs, having crept up on them.

The robot looked up and saw him, and hissed, "What are you doing? Get back to base!" He stuck his robotized foot out to block Mecha's claws, and said,

"I don't think so, Mecha." The robot looked at him in surprise, and let out a quiet hiss, somehow realising,

"Ssssonic..."

Knuckles had pulled himself up, and was trying to tug Sonic away. "Come on, leave Mecha, his legs are crushed. They're going to fire again!" Sonic nodded and started to scramble away.

Then he screamed in pain as his metal coating shocked him. He looked around wildly, and saw Mecha stabbing at him with some kind of shock stick, electricity sparking at its ends. Then he lost control completely and collapsed, just as an overhead hissing heralded the arrival of even more darts.

_randomwordstocreateagapbetweentimespaces_

Sonic finally awoke again. He twitched and groaned, flicking his eyes on. Wait...his eyes came on! He looked around, noticing that he was on the repair table in the base. And he could hear voices.

He strained his ears. It was Mecha speaking...

"-didn't work! It may have robotized him on the outside, and put circuits at the nerve endings, but I don't think it penetrated his head properly. He was acting strangely when I found him."

"Nonsense. He's been perfectly obedient since we first got him. Besides, if any electronics in his head failed, I've repaired them now. I think your hate is clouding your thoughts, Mecha."

"But, Master..."

"I don't want to hear anymore! Now, go patrol the base, or something. Get out of my sight."

Then he heard Mecha's seething hiss as he walked away, and he heard a door open. Robotnik walked in and loomed over him.

"Ah, good, you're awake."

Searching for correct response...

Oh, the voice was back...what had Robotnik said? Some kind of electronics in his head. He gagged silently to himself, and then replied quickly, before the voice could finish searching, "Yes, Master." Robotnik grinned and said quietly,

"I think Mecha is getting jealous. When I teach you to use weapons, maybe we can dispose of him."

"Yes, Master."

"Hmm...I think we'll test lasers first, in a few days. You can use the prisoners as targets!" The doctor burst out laughing, and Sonic tried not to feel sick.

"What prisoners, Master."

"Ah, the animals that were hunting you and Mecha. We captured all of them! Why don't you go see? You are not to converse with them, but you can jeer a bit, if you want."

"Yes, Master."

"Off you go, then. You're fully repaired."

"Yes, Master." Sonic slid off the table and landed lightly, metal clanking. Then he set off down the corridor to the holding cell.


	11. Chapter 11

Chaos: I can't believe I haven't updated in ages! I told Mitsuka I'd update last week…ouch. Sorry! Anyway, there're now two pictures of Cinos on Deviantart; one by me and one by Mitsuka. Here, and remember to delete the spaces. (wink):

Mine: http:www. view/ 11004068/

Mitsuka's: http:www. view/ 11036643/

Flower: 95 REVIEWS?! (eye twitches) Well, err, keep it up!Maybe I'll get even more than on Maze of Memories…mmm…

**Sipp - **Can I call you that? I have nicknames for most of my reviewers. Hehe. Anywho, you were actually reading my work?! (falls over) And I am using Microsoft Word...but an old version. And we all know the old version spell check is rubbish. And I'm glad your interest is secured. Would it be even better if I sneakily told you that Robo Knux and Mighty had a bigger part later? (shifts eyes)

**Kirbs - **You will see! Mwahahah!

**NM - **Oops, I got you mixed up with Kirbs. Don't hurt me! But if you want to see the picture, it's on my art account. And we all know where that is...right? RIGHT?

**SD – **Hehe. I really should implement some more Metal Sonic into this story…

**N.Harmonik- **Well, Mighty got captured, and Cheese is currently 'lying dazed beside the bed'. Though she has another part later. Mwaha.

**Kelly – **Hehe. Gotta love dancing! SPREAD THE LOVE PEOPLE!

**Spawn of 84 – **Wiffle bat? That sounds cute! And painful. And don't worry; the title refers to Sonic's metal coat, not the theme. Well, not really. I mean…aww, forget it.

**Ravenghost – **Hi! Nice name. Glad you like!

**El – **Oh, you will see…

**Az – **Well, prepare to be really crazy…now you have to wait twenty chapters!

**Tarem – **You can't imagine? Good, good. That's what I aim for.

**Pink Shimmer – **Yeah, I like Cinos. Name and person. I love you, Cinos! (glomp)

**Kurama – **Hey! You're insane! Just like a lot of people that review! Hmm…is that a good thing?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Eventually Sonic reached the thick steel door, thankful for not meeting Mecha along the way.

Carefully he unlocked it, and the voices inside quietened. He noticed that the overhead lights had been turned off, plunging all the occupants into darkness, and the partly opened door cast a sliver of yellow light into the room. He could see Tails, chained in his customary place, and blinking against it. For a moment he was struck by how thin and beaten his best friend looked, a wave of horror flooding him as he realised he had done that himself.

Willingly.

He shoved away his thoughts for the moment, and pushed the door open entirely, flooding the room with light. All of his friends were chained in a row, but not close enough to reach each other. Together yet apart.

Tails' eyes adjusted and he informed, "It's Mecha." The others glared at Sonic. He looked at them in surprise, and then checked over his shoulder. There was no robot. He stepped outside the room, fumbled for the light switch, then stepped in and shut the door.

"Metal Sonic isn't here."

_Command error. Order: 'do not converse with prisoners' disobeyed._

He ignored the voice.

Tails smiled sadly. "No, don't worry, guys. It's just an illusion of Mecha." Nobody laughed, and Sonic blinked his eyes on and off in confusion.

"I don't understand." He muttered, trying to ignore the repeating message in his head, which was growing steadily more insistent. He turned his head to check the others, and Rouge, who was nearest, cried out in surprise as she saw his exposed spikes.

"It's Sonic!" Sonic blinked again, more puzzled than ever.

"Who else."

_Command error command error command error-_

Sonic shook his head slightly, trying to clear the voice. Knuckles was giving him a strange look, and finally said, "I guess...when Robotnik fixed your eyes...he made them red, Sonic. Wow, you and Mecha could pass off as twins."

Sonic staggered back and leaned against the wall. "This is not happening." he muttered.

**_Command err_**_-_

_Shut up! _he thought silently at the voice.

**_Comm_**_- 'shut up' command unknown-**and error command error.**_

Amy cut his thoughts by grumbling,

"My arms hurt. Are you letting us down, or what?" Sonic nodded quickly, putting aside his thoughts for later, and starting to walk over to the wall. Then a shout from outside made them all freeze.

"Cinos! Where are you? The Robotizer is finally ready!"

"What? No way! I bashed that thing into pieces!" Rouge wailed. Sonic ran to the door and dashed outside.

"Here, Master." He nearly choked on the words. Maybe when Robotnik came he could knock him out and they could escape...

**_VIOLATION ORDER ONE DO NOT HARM MASTER ROBOTNIK_**

The voice nearly knocked him out with its volume, accompanied by a twinge of electricity that had not been there before. But he had no time to wonder.

Robotnik came into sight around the corner and his hopes died. Metal Sonic was walking behind him, with several guard bots, and glaring at Sonic as though he were a fly to be swatted. He forced himself to bow, and said,

"I was listening to the prisoners from here. They are talking of escape, Master."

_Speech incorrect. Correct response searching...****_

Fortunately Robotnik began speaking before the voice could complete its search.

Robotnik snorted, and said, "We'll see what they say when they're Robotized." He pushed open the door and stepped in, followed by Sonic and Mecha, and began looking over the prisoners.

"Who wants to be first?" he asked with a sickly grin. "How about you, armadillo?" Then he peered at Mighty and continued, "Hmm...never seen you before. Live in the sewer, do you?" He laughed mockingly.

Mighty spat at him and said, "If I were free you wouldn't be so confident!" The doctor scowled and said,

"I don't like your attitude. You'll be last...you can watch all your friends being transformed first!" Then he scanned the group again and pointed to Espio. "You...I don't like the look of you. Mecha!"

Mecha entered the room, casting Sonic a hateful glare, and crossed to Espio, who was starting to shift colours nervously. The robot pressed the chain release button, and Espio dropped to the floor.

Before he could move, the robot grabbed him by the neck and dragged him out of the room, kicking and yelling. Sonic paused for a second, until Tails mouthed 'Go!' and he dashed after them, slamming the door.


	12. Chapter 12

Flower: I GOT OVER 100 REVIEWS!!! (bounces) Hoorah! To celebrate, I think I'll…hmm…ah, put my Chaos and Flower comic up on Deviantart…when I get the chance. Ahem. And for anyone who don't like my art – (sniffle) – all chapters will now be two-and-a-half pages long. Thanks to all! (hugs)

Chaos: Yeees, whatever. Review responses! Thanks for 100!

**Oracle apprentice – **Hi! Are you a new reviewer? I'm glad you like the angsting…you should really read Maze of Memories. (shameless plug)

**Kirbs – **Have done – see above. And stop sending me forwards!! (twitch twitch) Oh, and glad to see you're doing review responses now! Everyone should! But, maybe you could write them in italics? To be unique, y'see…

**Spawn of 84 – **Or just Spawn. But anyway, I'm not sure his predicament is going to help him a huge amount…(shifts eyes) Apart from maybe strengthening friendship, or giving Robotnik a death sentence, or something…(plots)

**Kelly/Mitsuka – **Which name do you prefer? Anyway, glad you are still liking this…

**Espina – **Ooh, nice name. Did I meet you already? Anyway, I take it you like Espio, huh?

**El – **Sorry it's confusing. (droop) Anyway, glad you like, and keep up the ranting…venting anger is good!

**Tarem – **(thumbs-up) Chapters will be longer now. Glad I'm leaving you speechless! Heh heh.

**NM – **(freaked out) Oh, don't worry, I won't hurt Espio! Not for…(calculates)…about three chapters anyway. (searches for exit)

**Pinky – **(squeal) That name is so cute! I could write it all day! Or…maybe not. RSI…and don't worry, I have no intention on giving up this story for another twenty chapters yet. Where I am stuck…kinda.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Mecha was struggling to hold Espio, who was changing colours almost too fast to follow, and wriggling like a fish. Sonic stepped over to him and said, "Let me help." Mecha glared at him, and replied,

"I know that's you, Sssonic."

_Response unknown_,the voice droned inside his ear He ignored it.

"I am Cinos."

_Response registered._

Mecha seemed to be puzzling over this, but didn't resist when Sonic took Espio's other arm. Quickly they reached the Robotisization room, and Sonic struggled not to recoil from the menacing machine, remembering when he had been dragged in.

It looked slightly different to what he remembered; it had several new metal panels where it had been repaired, and seemed even bigger than before. Robotnik was already there in his swivel chair, and motioned to Mecha.

"Prepare the machine." he commanded, grinning at Espio, who had turned a brilliant white and was flickering. Sonic had an idea, and thought,

_Lower volume._

_Volume lowered_, the voice replied in his ear. Good; at least it listened to him. Sure enough, when he spoke, his electronic voice was very quiet.

"Keep struggling. I have a plan." As Espio thrashed around helplessly, but not quite so desperately as before, Sonic whispered in his ear, careful to pause if either of the others looked at him, and ignoring the voice blaring in his head that he was disobeying orders.

Then the tube hissed up, and Mecha motioned to Sonic, who dragged a kicking Espio forward and shoved him in. Robotnik smiled as Espio pressed his hands against the glass, apparently in helplessness.

"Any last words, chameleon?"

The glass distorted Espio's voice, but he could still be heard. "I'm going to help my friends escape from here, and you can't stop me." he recited, scales flaring red in defiance. Robotnik burst out laughing and sneered,

"Oh? How're you going to do that?" Espio grinned, not breaking eye contact, and shouted,

"Chaos Control!" Then he disappeared with a green flash. Robotnik leaped to his feet with a cry of shock, and Sonic smiled inwardly. Espio's scales flaring luminous green had created a good effect; it could have easily tricked him, if he hadn't known.

_Report to Master Robotnik._

The voice was insistent, but Sonic ignored it.

As he had expected, Robotnik stopped the machine, and searched the room quickly. He knew about Espio's camouflaging trick...but he could find nothing. Perhaps the chameleon did know Chaos Control...he wouldn't have been able to reach an emerald when chained…it did make sense.

**_Report to Master Robotnik_**__

The voice was louder, almost drowning the sounds of anger from the doctor, and before he could stop himself Sonic had blurted out the secret.

Thankfully his volume was still low, but his worries only increased.

In proper Robotization...would this voice be able to control him completely? Or would his entire body have been converted to metal? He shuddered to think.

Then Robotnik ordered Mecha and Sonic to go and check on the prisoners. He himself strode away to the video cameras, leaving the Robotizer room empty.

Or seemingly empty.

Espio uncamouflaged from his place, stuck to the ceiling, with a sigh of relief. He dashed to the control panel, pulling out one of his shurikens. The Robotizer wouldn't be working for a long time when he was finished with it.

Sonic and Mecha pounded along the corridors back to the prisoner's room, and made it in ten seconds flat. Mecha dug his claws into the door, and heaved it open, shattering the lock.

"Check over there." he commanded Sonic, and walked to the other end of the room, clearly beginning to trust the robotized hedgehog again after he had shoved a friend into the Robotizer. Sonic dashed over to where Shadow, Rouge and Tails hung. With a quick glance at Mecha he bashed all three of the switches, one after another.

They dropped to the floor silently, and Shadow motioned to Rouge and glared at Mecha. "We'll distract him. Get everyone else." he whispered to Sonic.

**_COMMAND VIOLATION_** **_DO NOT CONVERSE WITH PRISONERS COMMAND VIOLATION DO NOT FREE PRISONERS._**

The voice was deafening and the jolt of electricity stronger...but nothing would keep him from his friends again.

Sonic ran along the row, hitting the switches almost without looking.

Mecha finished looking behind a pipe in the corner, and looked round in time to have Shadow sock him in the face. The robot immediately jumped a half-circle and slashed out, and it was only by jumping two feet into the air that Shadow wasn't sliced open.

Then Rouge shot past him with a sliding kick, knocking the cornered robot off his feet. The bat flipped back with a grin, as Mecha crashed to the floor, hissed out, "Nooo..." and went deathly quiet.

Knuckles walked over to them, rubbing his wrists, and muttered, "That was...a little too easy." Vector kicked the robot, which clattered and slipped over, eyes blank. The crocodile grinned,

"Ah, he ain't getting up for a while. C'mon, lets get outta here!" Cream nodded hastily; Mecha freaked her out, moving or not, and the others filed out of the room. Sonic was last to leave, staring at the still robot suspiciously. Something was wrong...and it wasn't the voice continually blaring in his head.

Then Tails called to him, and he dashed after them.

Behind him, Mecha's eyes flashed on again, and he ran a quick self-report.

Functioning at 89. Damage: Minimal.

The robot hissed softly, and moved soundlessly from the room, following the infrared heat signature of the animals.

He was going to KILL Sonic.


	13. Chapter 13

Chaos: Well, we're going on holiday for the next week so...here's an extra-long chapter! Six pages! Now don't say I never do anything for you lot. (smiles)

Kirbs - Well, don't! I hate forwards, I keep thinking I have more reviews! (meaningful look) Oh, and I won't kill Sonic, don't you worry...not saying I won't hurt him a bit...a lot...(evil cackle)

SD - Thanks! And yes, Mecha really does hate Sonic a LOT, doesn't he?

Spawn - Wow, you don't threaten me anymore! And look, a longer chapter! Hehehe.

Tarem - Show Mecha who's boss? You bet Sonic will! Or...won't...well, somebody will, but I'm not saying who. Somebody...paticularly close to Sonic. You will see!

Mitsuka - (thumbs-up) Glad you like! And thanks again you the fan piccy!

Dark Thorn, huh? Oh, I mean...Espina - Nice name...dark thorn. Sounds mysterious. Like mine. Only, of course, mine doesn't really apply...(sweatdrop) You like Tails? Well, he's not really in this chapter...but he has a much bigger part in the next, and the one after that...and, I think, the one after that...

NM - You should be worried for Sonic! If you're really worried I would...maybe not read this chapter. Ah, who am I kidding? As for Espio...yeah! Go, Espio! (I wish I could put smilies here...)

el - Well, not quite...lets say Mecha will fight Sonic. In that order. Ah, just read...

Mythica - Hooray! Everybody loves Espio! Good thing I didn't Robotize him, huh? Hmm...(plots) Espio must get into MORE tricky situations...MWA HA HA!!!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was only a short while before the group reached the control room, meeting a pleased Espio along the way. The chameleon was greeted with much enthusiasm, and commanded to tell his story later.

Eggman was nowhere to be seen, but the room itself was interesting, to say the least. It was circular, with a raised seat in the middle, and almost all the walls were covered with video screens, which flickered continuously, showing only static.

Tails knew what he had to do, and ran to the controls. After a couple of minutes quick typing, he cried agonisingly, "It wants a password! Help me out here, guys."

As they crowded round the monitor, Sonic backed away and went to watch the screens. They were all flickering differently, and it was hypnotizing. He couldn't look away. Even the voice had droned away, an odd crackling in its place.

Behind him red eyes glowed.

In one sleek movement Mecha leaped forward and sank his claws into Sonic's neck. Sonic's eyes flickered in shock, static patterns instantly forgotten. He tried desperately to make a sound, but all that came out was a small, choked gargle from beneath the metal, sound filters destroyed by Mecha's claws.

The robot silently heaved him backwards out of the room, almost purring with glee.

He was pulled swiftly around several corners before instinct kicked in and he started swiping backwards, claws rebounding off Mecha's metal. Then he was swung round and smashed into the wall with a blow that almost knocked him senseless.

A strong arm held him in place, and Mecha's red eyes burned into his own like a mirror image. "You dare to cross me!" the robot hissed, "I will tear you apart, Ssssonic!" Then he heaved his claws at Sonic's head.

His claws sliced easily through the metal, and he heaved away a large section on Sonic's face, ripping wires from his face. The hedgehog cried out in pain, not noticing that his voice was no longer an emotionless recording.

Mecha looked at the blue hedgehog under the metal, and snarled. Ssssonic...he had almost forgotten what he was really like. He should have killed him from the start! He went into a frenzy, swiping like a mad animal.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was at that point that Tails relinquished the computer monitor in despair, and looked around. "Where's Sonic?" he immediately asked. Knuckles considered it for a second, and stepped forward.

"Right," he said calmly, "We split into pairs. Each pair takes a different direction, keeps an eye out for Sonic, smashes whatever they find, and gets out of here. We'll meet up back home. And," he added with a slight smile, "I want this place to be a heap of rubble by the time we leave."

Within minutes the control room was empty.

So nobody saw the side door open, and a familiar moustache poke inside. Robotnik scanned the room a few times, and then ran to lock the door. Within seconds, he had the security cameras up and running, and the entire base was spread before him.

Grimly he picked up some guard-bot controls. He may lose the base, but he would take some of them with him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Knuckles strode along the corridors, almost hoping to meet some robots. He was seriously regretting his pairing idea; he had been landed with Amy. Charmy had said it was 'an obvious choice'.

Knuckles had asked dangerously, "what does that mean?" and the bee had flown out of reach and laughed. It was easy for him; he got to go with Vector. Everybody else had paired up incredibly quickly. So Knuckles was dumped with Amy, who couldn't stop chattering, despite the situation.

Knuckles wondered briefly if she talked in her sleep. In all his life he had never known someone who talked so MUCH…he had grown used to the quiet solitude of his island. He tuned in for a second to see if she was actually saying something interesting, and listened long enough to hear:

"-onder why Eggman makes all his bases the same? I guess he must really like steel, or perhaps it's becau-"

Knuckles groaned under his breath and lengthened his stride, gazing around for SOMETHING to attack, before he ripped Amy apart.

Unfortunately their journey was doomed to be uneventful.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Shadow and Rouge's was to be exactly the opposite.

No sooner had they gone three corners, when they bumped into Mecha. The robot released his grip on Sonic, who crumpled to the floor with a moan, and backed away a step, unwilling to release his rival, but not sure if he could take on both fighters at once.

Then he decided and leaped towards Shadow, deeming him the more dangerous opponent. Shadow ducked and the robot missed and staggered. Rouge spun round in a fancy spinning kick, and Mecha slipped along the floor.

Shadow quickly spun into a spindash at the robot, who crossed his arms in front of him for defence, and activated his energy shield. It shimmered brightly and threw Shadow away to land on his feet down the corridor.

Mecha couldn't hold the shield long; it used far too much power. He forgot Sonic, pulled a blaster from his inventory, and fired several shots down the hallway. Then he turned and ran for cover. Rouge sniffed disgustedly, and turned to look at Sonic. The hedgehog's metal coating was strong, but Mecha's diamond-tipped claws were stronger.

Large chunks of metal were literally ripped away, along with fur and wires attached, all over Sonic's body, leaving him only half-robotized, covered with blood, and barely conscious.

It was not a pretty sight.

Rouge grimaced and backed away a step, and then suddenly a piercing alarm blared out from the control room, red lights flashing. The bat flattened her sensitive ears and cringed, shouting over the alarm,

"Damn it! Let's get out of here!"

For the first time since Mecha had fired she looked at Shadow. The black hedgehog looked faintly ill and was holding his side, grimacing. "Shadow?" she yelled, "Are you hurt?"

"Just a scratch." Shadow called back, unwilling to tell her that he hadn't been watching, captivated by the sight of Sonic in such a state. He cast a look at Sonic again, then shouted,

"What about him?"

"No time! We have to get out before this place is filled with robots!"

Shadow nodded, but he didn't look entirely pleased. The two fled from the corridor, and down several more, becoming lost within the maze of corridors. When they had run for quite some time, Shadow slowed and looked around, trying to ignore the pain in his side.

"Where're the robots, Rouge?" he asked quietly, the alarm having stopped several minutes before. The bat shook her head in confusion, and said,

"Maybe they found somebody else? Let's just get out of here." Shadow's eyes narrowed as she dashed ahead. Found somebody else? Somebody like Sonic?

They should have saved Sonic while they could. Shadow had seen him; he couldn't stand, could barely remain conscious, let alone fight. Should've saved him...he wasn't such a bad guy after all...

Shadow could barely believe he was thinking that about Sonic, arch rival, but...just running off had been wrong. He couldn't shake the feeling.

But it was too late now. He was probably dead anyway, and there was no way they could find their way back to him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Cream screamed as the alarm went off, but it was cut off sharply as Espio clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her quickly into the shadows, his own body turning a dull steel grey to camouflage them.

Several robots ran past, metal feet pounding on the floor. When they had gone Espio released Cream and peered into the corridor again. The red lights flashed on and off dizzyingly, reflecting on the floor and walls, giving the illusion that the corridor was swaying. It would be impossible to camouflage through it without the lights changing at least five times.

He ducked back into the shadows, and shrugged at Cream, who looked around anxiously, and then pointed straight up and asked, "What's that?" Espio pulled her back as more robots clanked by their hiding place. Then he looked up, his eyes gleaming yellow.

"Perfect."

He pulled off his gloves and outstretched his hands, suckering onto the wall, then scrambled quickly up to the air vent cover. He grabbed it with one hand and pulled, surprised to find it came out smoothly.

He dropped it to Cream, and then checked the corridor. It was empty...for now. He beckoned to the rabbit, who flapped her ears and rose up to his level. He ducked into the cramped tunnel and pulled her in after him, just before a larger group of robots thundered past, into their hiding place and then past.

Later the alarms stopped and the hallways became silent once again.

Robotnik's plan was underway.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Vector tugged at the heavy steel door, and it opened slowly, rusted on the other side. Charmy buzzed overhead, almost hyperactive with excitement. The screams of the alarms were far away, for Vector's strength and Charmy's vigil allowed the pair to pass easily through the base.

Suddenly the door swung wide, and Charmy darted in. A second later he called, voice echoing weirdly, "Whooooo...hey, Vector! Check out this place! It echoooooooes!" Vector rolled his eyes, switched off his headphones, and wrenched the door shut behind them.

Then he turned to look at the room.

It was very, very, large, and made of bricks and rusting metal. Large stone pillars arched overhead, eventually connecting with their opposite counterparts at the top. Vector and Charmy had emerged onto a metal grille platform that stretched along the wall, where more steps led up and down, to many more identical platforms above and below. Vector stepped warily up to the handrail, and looked down into the darkness that the wall lights could not penetrate.

"What is this place?" he muttered, awed. His voice bounced around the high arched ceiling and came back oddly magnified. Charmy shrugged nonchalantly, hovering in mid-air, and said, "I'll go check!"

Then he plunged down into the dark.

"Charmy!" Vector growled angrily, looking after him. Just as the bee was fading from sight he stopped.

"Woah, it's a gigantic pool! Vec, check it out!"

Nervously Vector stepped along the walkway, which creaked warningly under his feet. He gripped the handrail tighter than necessary, edging slowly along. Eventually he reached the next walkway down, where Charmy was waiting.

"Took you long enough!" the bee complained, looking into the depths. Vector could smell it now; the metallic tang of water against rusting metal. Dimly he could see gigantic turbines at the opposite end of the room.

"It must be his hydro power supply. But why's it all turned off?" the crocodile muttered, half to himself, peering into the black water.

"Probably diverted all robots and energy into the battle up there..." Charmy pondered, surprisingly sensible. Vector nodded, and then said,

"How do we get out?" Charmy grinned as though Vector was stupid, and said,

"The water must drain into here somewhere...underwater? You're the crocodile, Vec. You do the maths." Vector scowled at him, and muttered,

"I hate you."

Charmy only laughed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Chaos: Ok, just for reference, the pairings are:

Shadow and Rouge

Tails and Mighty

Amy and Knuckles

Vector and Charmy

Espio and Cream

Sonic and...uh...himself

Flower: Yes, and if I were really annoying, I would give them all separate team names. Like, 'Ninja Star' for Espio and Cream. Heheh. But I'm not, they're only in teams for a few chapters because-

Chaos: Shh, idiot! Anyway, see you, everyone!


	14. Chapter 14

Chaos: Next chapter! A changing theme; sorta funny then serious. Hmm. Right, well, anyway...you know the drill!

Flower: 125 REVIEWS!! 28 DIFFERENT REVIEWERS!! This story has officially broken the Maze-of-Memories review record! w00t! Thanks, everyone! (hugs to all)

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Ladymecha- Ooh! Hi! I wondered where you'd gone. Glad to know you're still reading! Thankyou!

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Sipp - (anime fall) Tails/Mighty? EEW!!! Ugh, getitout getitout! Never! Never, I tell you! Anyway...(sweatdrop)...RK/Mighty - NOT pairing. (twitch twitch) - part coming in, say, two chapters. Possibly next one.

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Spawn of 84 - What do you mean '_keep up the...good?...work_' That is worrying...

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Mitsuka - More fanart? PARTY!!! (bounces)

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Kirbs - I am reviewing your stories! Aren't I? (scratches head) Well, err, if I'm not, I'll try to. I get busy sometimes...

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Tarem - Oh, er...yes, Sonic will be fine...(cough cough). Don't kill me, ok?!

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NM - We-ell, he's alive. For now. But, come on, you know there's over thirty chapters, I think. How could I write that much if I killed Sonic?

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chaolovin' - Thanks! You helped me break the record! (bounces) And you didn't have to flame my Yu-gi-oh fic...(droops) Sequel of Maze of Memories is as good as dead right now...it all exploded over a MAJOR plothole...(sigh)

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SD - Heh heh. Nice name! 'Flaming Rose'. You should write a story about a tournament where they have team names like thus. That'd be interesting!

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el - Amy/Knuckles? Romance?! God, no! They're like, polar opposites! Knuckles would shred her! Amy would annoy him to death! Besides, Amy loves Sonic...(sweatdrop)...

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Kai the Tiger - Hi! Can I call you Kai? I like that. 'Kai'. You know, Kaijou means 'of the sea'?Anyway, err, sorry...I like being uber-evil! Cliffies are the best! At least my stories have happy-ish endings...mostly...(grin)

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parslie - Hi! New reviewer! Yay! I'm glad you like and...here's the update! Heh.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tails was lost. He turned to Mighty and shrugged.

Since the alarms had gone off they had run madly through the base, trying to evade the passing robots. They had only run into one, which surprised Tails but had run on past, ignoring them. Then the alarms had stopped.

Something was wrong, Tails could feel it, and it sent shivers up his spine.

"I'm sure the map says to go right..." he said, passing it to the armadillo. Mighty frowned at the crumpled paper, and replied,

"It does say tha-...hey, wait, shouldn't that writing be THIS way up?" Tails looked over his shoulder and groaned.

"You mean I've been holding it upside-down? No way!" Mighty grinned and replied,

"Nah, you were probably holding it the right way up first time, then changed it after you dropped it."

"I did not drop it! That robot surprised me, that's all!"

"Oh, yeah, right. You were scared, admit it, kid."

"I wasn't! I was just...surprised..." Tails trailed off, knowing he was losing the argument. "Yeah, well, my name is Tails, ok?" Then he pouted and went into a sulk.

Mighty chuckled, and said, "Nobody wins an argument against Mighty Armadillo. Remember that, kid."

"Tails."

"Whatever, fox-boy."

"TAILS!"

Then they both laughed, covering the tension of the situation, and the fact that they were lost in the middle of a big base full of robots. Mighty suddenly looked up, and said,

"Hey! We're back in front of the control room!"

"No way! Well, now we know where we are..."

Mighty grinned, and replied, "So get reading that map, ki- Tails. Hmm...Kitails. I like it."

Tails whacked him on the mid-shell with the map. "You're lucky you're taller than me, or I'd hit you in the face..." he muttered.

Then a groan from the far-right corridor distracted them both.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sonic had half-seen Rouge, bending over him, and couldn't understand it when she disappeared. Alarms blared overhead. The pain was blotting out all rational thoughts; she had to be working with Eggman, he decided.

Eggman! That creep would probably kill him if he found him sitting against the wall here. He had to get out, somehow. He attempted to move, and only tipped over sideways, landing on the metal floor with a thud that knocked his breath away in a blaze of agony and made him pass out.

When he finally came to he was on his side, and the alarms had stopped; it could have been minutes, seconds, anything. At least Eggman hadn't got him...Eggman! He had to get out...no matter what. He pushed himself up onto his hands, aware that his legs weren't working, and one eye was blurred where the glassy covering had been smashed again.

Every movement was agony, but he didn't have enough breath to make a sound. He knew he was hurt...badly. He sank the claws on his left hand into the floor, using them to pull himself along an inch, then tried to use his right hand, found that the claws had been pulled away.

Progress was painfully slow, as only his left hand could pull him along, right hand sliding uselessly on the metal when he tried to use it. He had to have lost a lot of blood; he could smell it, taste it, and he cou-

Taste it?

He gingerly raised his right hand to touch his jaw, and it burned. That meant that...half the metal on his face had been ripped away. He could speak properly again! He began pulling himself along again with more hope...

Metal Sonic had saved him, he had pulled some of the metal away...perhaps he could get the rest off easily now. If he survived.

...for the robot had also all but killed him. No, he HAD to survive. He wanted to tell Tails he was sorry for forgetting everything, for hurting him. He wanted to do all that stuff he would talk about, but hadn't had time for. He wanted to...wanted to...

Energy spent, he sank to the floor, light-headed. His vision was blurred in both eyes, and he summoned the strength to groan at the pain the cold metal made against his skin, before going completely limp.

The metal floor was ok now, it cooled him. He was burning all over, shut his eye against it, the other red pupil switching off. It burned more. Then sounds buffeted his ears. He was so tired...yet something told him to listen, because it could be really important...it might be the last thing he heard...

__

It'd better not be Robuttnik laughing his head off, Sonic thought dimly,_ he's wasted enough of my time_. Time...how he wished he had more of it. He wondered vaguely about some kind of Chaos Control, then realised he was getting distracted.

He strained his ears.

"-nic! ...Sonic! ...oh, Sonic...please don't be dead yet...Sonic..." It was...Tails. He shuddered and opened his normal eye under the shattered cover. It was hard to see...large spikes of the smashed glass stuck across his vision, blurring it.

His electronic eye no longer came on.

He could make out Tails, kneeling beside him, and...someone else, behind him. Tails had seen him looking, and was speaking again, tears streaming down his face.

"Sonic, it'll be ok...I'll...I'll get some help...just hold on...please..."

Summoning all his last reserves of strength, he nodded slightly. And everything went dark.


	15. Chapter 15

Chaos: 3-page chapter. w00t. Glad people are still liking this...

Flower: What's up with you?

Chaos: I've been on this computer for the last two hours...MY EYES HURT. Not to mention the angsty stories...(sweatdrop) Yes. Anyway...

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Kirbs - Effect. S'all about effect. I like to finish on big cliffies, and because they come up often, the chapters are short. (shrug)

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NM - Yay for Tails! I like him. He should be in this story more. (ponders)

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Spawn - Well, I hope you've got some sleep now otherwise...you'd probably be dead. (sweatdrop) And watch out with that wiffle bat!

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Kurama - Aaw, I didn't mean to upset you...oh, ok, maybe I did, but Knux doesn't need to be mean about it! (throws wiffle bat at Knux)

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Mitsuka - (thumbs-up) Continuing! Except until we get to the Writer's Block in about ten chapters! (shudder)

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Tarem - Yep, yep, I think you mentioned that before. But, go on, say it again! I like to hear it. (grin)

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el - Well, this one's longer. Hope s'not too confuzzling.

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Tag - I don't know why you think that! I _crave_ reviews! Gimmegimmegimme! If everybody thought that then I wouldn't get any reviews and I'd stop updating...(puppy eyes)...review away!

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Kemious - Harry Potter fan? Anyway, hi! (grin) Glad you like this story so much!

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Espina - w00t, two reviews!! (squeal) I'm glad you have no critisism. I must be doing something right. (dances)

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SD - No, go ahead, I'd like to see it. As for quality over quantity...are you saying my chapters are two short _as well_? Maybe I SHOULD make them longer...(ponders)

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tailslover666 - Yes, I feel bad about that...but luckily I realised in time and Tails' part has a big increase, don'cha worry! In about...ah, god knows...3 chapters? Optimistically. (wink)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Vector surfaced hurriedly from the depths, and scrambled for the rickety platform, shaking droplets of water everywhere in his hurry. Charmy caught his agitation and shot over to help him, and soon Vector was leaning heavily against the wall, panting.

"Woah, Vec. What's eating you?"

"Fish. Literally. Or they tried to, anyway. They were huge, Charmy! I dunno how they got in here but..." he whistled quietly, "Whatever's in that water's made them REALLY big. They were like sea dragons, all scaly and snaky and huge teeth...ugh!"

Charmy looked at the deceptive water with wide eyes. Hardly a ripple broke the surface. He hovered from side to side nervously, and said, "Let's get back above. This place is starting to give me the creeps."

Vector was glad Charmy had said it and not him. Silently they ran for the upper level.

They had barely reached it when a great clang resounded around the room. Vector jumped so much that he nearly fell, and grabbed the railing in shock. Charmy did a flip in mid-air at the sound.

It was closely followed by shouts. Vector looked over the edge hesitantly and saw a hole where the air-vent had been. Espio and Cream had tumbled straight onto the grille platform in a heap.

They managed to untangle themselves and Cream dusted herself off neatly. Then she looked around, fur on the back of her neck prickling uncomfortably. "What IS this place?" she asked, voice becoming a little higher in her anxiety.

Espio shook some dust from his horn, and muttered, "Trust you to be scared of the dark." Cream folded her arms, hugging herself, and said quietly,

"Well, it was all dark and dusty…and you got us lost."

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did!" Cream had small tears in her eyes, and Espio realised just how scared she must have been…maybe she was claustrophobic? He started to feel guilty; he was used to undercover work…he had expected too much.

Then shouts from above distracted him. He peered upward to see Charmy and Vector peering at them. "Hi guys!" he yelled, waving. They were both motioning, almost frantically. If he hadn't known better, he would have sworn they were frightened.

Then their shouts drifted down.

"Esp, watch out!"

"Move it, now!"

Espio exchanged confused looks with Cream. Then something…instinct, maybe, attracted his attention to the surface of the water. It was black and opaque; he could not see more than a hand span into the depths.

Suddenly something swept by beneath the surface, and for a second white sightless eyes were glaring at him balefully, and the tip of a spike of bone swept the surface, creating a small wake.

"Woah!" he cried out, grabbing Cream's arm and pushing her towards the stairs.

"What? What is it?" she cried in panic, not understanding. Then a fish leaped out of the water toward them and Cream screamed. It was long and sleek, scales like chain armour.

Several fingers of bone ran along its back, connected by a thin membrane, giving it a large frill - and its fins were much the same, but the bone fingers joined together into a hard knob on its side. It was dark navy on top, turning lighter to white beneath and on its frills.

As it leaped towards them its mouth opened wide, revealing razor-sharp teeth that were as long as Cream's hand, at least. The overall fish was bigger than Vector. Espio grabbed Cream and threw her at the steps, and she scrambled to safety.

Espio drew out his last shuriken, the others embedded deep in the wiring of the robotizer, and brandished it at the monster. The fish turned in mid-air from the flash of metal, and the shuriken scraped its side, making a long scratch.

The fish let out a chilling screech of pain, and crashed onto the metal walkway, which collapsed under the weight with a squeal of twisting metal. Espio barely had time to draw in a breath before he was sucked under the black surface.

Vector shot down the steps, fear forgotten, and froze on the last step. The entire bottom walkway was dangling underwater from one pole, which had miraculously held, wrenched almost in half.

The water started bubbling madly; almost foaming, and then Espio broke the surface with a gasp, scales bright white with fear. Vector dropped onto his stomach on the last step and grabbed the chameleon's arm, pulling him to safety.

When they reached the top walkway, Espio released his death-grip on Vector's neck and calmed down enough to speak. "It was all dark and cold, and that horrible fish was all twisting round me," he related, breath coming in short gasps, "But then it stopped trying to swallow me and started fighting something else."

"Turns out those fish are cannibals. You know, like sharks. They must've smelt blood on that one, and anyway, they were all trying to tear each other apart, from what I could see. And I couldn't see much. I was caught in the middle of it, and it was…disgusting. I started changing into luminous colours, and it must've scared them a bit, what with it being dark down there...so, they parted and I swam out as fast as I could."

The others listened in horror, and then Charmy said, "Looks like one of them did get you." And pointed to his side, where a large bite had cracked the scales. Espio nodded unheedingly,

"You should've seen the others, Charmy. That one that attacked was TINY!" Vector shuddered uncomfortably, and muttered,

"Let's get outta here. This place gives me the creeps." On the way out, Charmy grinned suddenly and said,

"Heh…looks like Mighty's missing out again. You remember the look on his face when he found out he missed the entire adventure against Metal Sonic, because he volunteered to look after the Master Emerald for a while?" The others laughed at the memory, but the atmosphere wasn't truly relaxed until they were out in the corridor again.

Behind them, Cream dragged her feet. "I wish Cheese was here." She mumbled, thinking of her chao in the house at home, probably wondering where she'd gone.


	16. Chapter 16

Chaos: I got my first flame for this story! Well, sorta. Anyway, next chapter...the last was mainly as a filler for what was happening to everybody else, and to keep you hanging over whether Sonic would be ok. (grin)

Flower: And hopefully the 'bold' fonting won't screw up...

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Spawn - See above. Sorry if I disappointed you...

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Kirbs - Well, that's why I thought Mighty wasn't shown. I mean, Knuckles wouldn't just leave the Master all alone, and in the comic the Chaotix know him, so perhaps they do in the game...makes sense, no? (grin) Glad you like.

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Kurama - Ok...sorry, Knuckles! And these chapters are already quite long, i just break off at a suitable cliffie! (grin)

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Kai - Get my split personality under control? But which one of us should be 'in control'? Aha! Glad you find me a touch sadistic, I was waiting for somebody to notice...(wink)

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el - Haha, yeah, I don't like fish. Especially pirahna. Grr...

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Tarem - Ah, Espio is as good as safe for a long while now...in fact, I don't think he really shows up again. Oh, wait, no, he does. Phew! Had you worried?

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Tundra - Hellu! New reviewer? Anyway, Sonic is in this chappie. Well, sort of. (sweatdrop)

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NM - (shriek) You murdered the Shadow plushie!!! Maybe I'll just delete the bit with Tikal in this chapter! ...no, wait, that would be unfair to the others. Ack, you win this time...(grin)

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Kemious - Oh, just thought 'Hippogriff' and 'Kitsugriff'. Nevermind. Anyway...I'm glad you think this is getting better!

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Kai (again) - Ah, maybe I have an obsession with cutting everyone into little pieces. Hehehe.

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Mitsuka - (glomp) Ah, sorry, I just needed to glomp someone and...you were there. Like always. Thanks for everything! (grin) Ah, I just needed to say that...

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SD - Haha, interesting way of putting it. Good point. Here's the next chapter!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Knuckles and Amy were the first out of the base, even though Knuckles had insisted on stopping to smash up a few security cameras. The base was built into the mountainside, not too far away from Station Square, but still difficult to spot.

Knuckles couldn't help wondering where Robotnik got the money to build such structures. Probably stole it. This particular one was much the same as normal; grey metal, maze-like inside, with absolutely no security on the outer walls.

Also incredibly easy to break into.

As he and Amy dithered outside the base, waiting for the others, he couldn't help but instinctively turn towards where his island would be, if not obscured by the evening light. Had a day passed already since they got captured?! Tikal had better be doing ok with the Master Emerald...after all, she couldn't really fight, and Chaos wasn't exactly...well...a Guardian.

He knew he was being prejudiced; Chaos had been an echidna at ONE point. He HAD been the first Guardian - well, sort of. Guarding chao didn't really count - He might be able to use the Master Emerald, though it was usually only guardians that could harness its power. He still hadn't worked out why Tikal could.

He decided to contact Tikal. After motioning to Amy to keep an eye on the base, he went to sit on a flat rock and meditate. She watched him go, frowning slightly. Why was he always such a loner anyway?

With a sigh she turned back to watch the unchanging walls, unconsciously combing her quills into place.

Knuckles shut his eyes and relaxed. After a few moments the outside sounds faded, becoming rather muffled. In his mind he called, "Tikal?" and waited patiently for a response.

After a couple of moments Tikal's voice sounded in his head, along with a few faint traces of birdsong, probably from the island. "Knuckles?" He felt a pang of longing; he hated leaving the island for long. The moment this was over he was going up there and staying put for a year at least.

"_Kyana_ Tikal," he greeted in ancient echidnaen, "How're things going?"

"_Kyana._ It's great here! I love summer...oh, how're things at your end?"

"Ugh. It's madness. I swear I haven't slept for two days now."

Tikal laughed quietly. "It's really that bad?" Knuckles sighed in response, then questioned,

"How's Chaos? Hasn't killed anyone, has he?"

"Oh, he's fine. Just lurks around pretending to be moody and playing with chao when he thinks I'm not watching..." Knuckles smiled, or rather sent a sort of telepathic smile to Tikal.

"Is the Master Emerald ok?" he asked, a little anxiously. She sent him an image of herself smiling in return.

"Silly! If it wasn't I wouldn't be talking to you." Knuckles was glad she couldn't actually see him, he felt sure he was blushing. "Do you want to see it?" she asked. Without waiting for a response, she sent him an image of the green gem. It was seen from a sitting position and glinting rainbow shades here and there in the evening sunset.

"That was what I was seeing when you called." The pang of homesickness struck again, and Knuckles unconsciously winced.

"Well, Tikal, I'd better go. Speak to you later."

In response she sent an image of a small echidna child waving madly. She had always been better at mind-pictures then him; she had been able to recreate the past, in visions, for crying out loud.

He sent a scrappy picture of another child echidna signing goodbye in echidnaen. (Most mind-pictures of echidnas were children, perhaps to remind each other that they DID have a gentle side)

"Good grief, Knuckles, you haven't sent pictures in a long time, have you?" Tikal said incredulously as she saw the picture. "Anyway, _Kyuno._"

"_Kyuno_, Tikal" He replied, breaking the mind-link. He stood up, feeling much better. It had been so long since he connected telepathically to anyone...he had almost forgotten how. No wonder Tikal had laughed at his imaging.

He looked around to see that Amy was gone. Frowning, he looked again and saw a scribbled note beside him. It read:

__

You should stop meditating once in a while!

Heard sounds in the base. Going in to help.

Amy

Knuckles sighed in annoyance and began striding up the hill towards the base, where there was indeed some yells and crunches, metal screeching...sounded like a battle. He grinned, knocked his fists together, and turned towards it.

Mighty was running along behind Tails, trying to keep up without jogging Sonic too much, when the fox stopped and he almost bashed into him. They were at the end of the last corridor in the maze. Tails' eyes were very wide.

"So...this is why we didn't meet any security...I get it, Eggman must have brought all the robots to the entrance to stop us escaping. So THAT'S why we were ignored earlier."

The entire space between them and the exit was packed with robots, as far as he could see. They both froze, undetected. "What now?" Mighty whispered, turning slightly pale despite himself.

Tails looked around frantically; if Sonic wasn't with them, they might have been able to smash a path through and run for it, but...there had to be another way. On an impulse he looked up.

As the map had shown, the base was arranged into a large semicircle cut into the mountain, the curve at the back and the flat front poking out of the rock. Near the front, the hallways were much higher, which Tails and Mighty hadn't noticed, but at the front edge of the base they stopped and actually formed almost two stories.

Almost, meaning small grille walkways, much like the ones in the water storage, running like support beams across the roof. They were mainly intended for maintenance bots to fix cameras in the ceiling, but could also be used as hangers for electronic signs and other memorabilia.

And escape routes.

Tails grabbed Mighty's arm, and pulled him back along the corridor to a door marked: 'cleaning only'. Within minutes they had clanked up to the walkways which, like the water storage, were completely deserted.

Tails took one step, his fur prickling uncomfortably. The semi-transparent grille gave him a clear view of the robots standing at attention below, waiting for intruders. If any one of them happened to look up...he gulped nervously, took another step, and motioned to Mighty.

Then all hell broke loose.


	17. Chapter 17

Flower: Not much to say...lots of action. (grin) And don't kill me after you read the end, ok? (hides) I got 15 reviews for the last chapter! Thankees all!

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N.Harmonik - Tikal used slang? Where? (confused) Well, if she did, sorry...

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Tarem - Well, this chapter is much lnoger. Hope you like!

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parslie - Torture Sonic some more? YES!!! Another follower! Finally somebody who won't attack meeee! I just love torturing Sonic, he's my favourite character.

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Kirbs - Haha, good point. Fine, 'all hell broke loose...again!!!'

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NM - Hey, did you see I've updated Breaking the Bond? Anyway, yes, Chaos looks a lot like an echidna. I'm not sure he actually was one, but he was definitely the first guardian of the Emerald, and the chao! (grin)

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Tundra - See above about Chaos. Glad you like the chapter, hehe.

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Kemious - Well, I would, but I don't really know their personalities. Help me out, perhaps? Anyway, flame wasn't really a flame, more of a negative comment. A bad negative comment.

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Spawn - Good good. Hope you like upcoming chapters too...(looks worried)

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Kurama - Well, I don't know if Knuckles can contact people psychicly, but he can in this story! But only Tikal. Yes. Don't hurt me! Sonic will live! For a bit longer! (laughs)

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Mitsuka - Aaw, thanks. Glad you like - I just start writing and get ideas as I go. My idea for the last chapter was; focus on Knuckles and Amy outside the base and what they decide to do. Heehee!

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tailslover - Well, I don't usually respond to review requests, and I didn't this time but- OH MY GOD your stories are great! Here's a collective thumbs-up, and keep em coming! I love the one where Tails loses his memory...(sweatdrop) Though that's probably because I did the same thing to Sonic in MofM.

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Pink Shimmer - Would you rather I slowed down updating? (grin) Glad you like and are still here.

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Chibi - Woah, the Tails Doll freaks me out. (shudder) Glad the cliffies are eating your brain in a good way...you'll love the next one. Or maybe you'll hate it. Ah, well...

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Espina - For both your reviews, the sane one and the insane one (sweatdrop), thanks! I'm glad you're keeping up, I didn't think this part of the story was very good...and especially not the bit coming after. (wince)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Shadow and Rouge had been snapping at each other, tempers growing shorter as they got more lost. Rouge thought grimly that THEY should've had the only map, not that fox boy.

They had rounded one more corner, shouting at each other about whose fault it was that they were lost, and how they should've helped Sonic anyway, when they almost walked straight into the hoard of robots.

They both froze for a long second, and then the robots swarmed forward like ants, brandishing their lasers. Shadow gave a battle cry and spindashed in a semi-circle to destroy the first row. In the small gap Rouge just had time to see the entire wave of robots, of which only a quarter were attacking.

She went pale and turned to run, forgetting Shadow. Two robots soared over her head, hitting the corridor floor on all fours with a loud thud. They whirled to face her, recorded snarls issuing.

They vaguely resembled cats, with long limbs and sharp claws, obviously designed to hunt down escapees. She gulped as more 'hunters' leaped over her into the corridor, effectively blocking the way.

She prepared to kick through them, when she heard a small rumbling. Looking up, she saw a security door sliding out of the ceiling, to block her path. Damn, Eggman must be watching and blocking their escape.

She darted backwards to the relative safety of Shadow, who was spindashing in a wide black circle, too fast for robots to target.

At that moment she heard another battle yell...was it from one of the front entrances. The back rows of robots, taken by surprise, were sent flying into one another like dominoes, by hammer blows. Yes, it was Amy all right.

Shadow had uncurled briefly to check, and then started to hack through the robots towards her, reasoning that they would stand more chance fighting in a group. Rouge followed, facing backwards and smashing any machines that tried to ambush them.

They were cutting a trail through a sea of robots. Or that's how it looked from above, to Tails and Mighty.

Once the pair had recovered from their shock they ran along the walkway to watch. Tails gazed down at the scene, which was oddly hypnotising, half the robots moving towards one point and the other half remaining still...so long as they didn't look towards the actual fighters.

There, everything was chaos.

The fox didn't realise the danger until a stray laser beam flashed upwards, almost destroying a camera. "Come on!" he yelled over the sounds of battle, and they raced for the end of the platform.

Tails was ahead, trying to gauge the distance to the door; they were halfway, he thought, when two thuds sounded ahead of them. Tails skidded to a halt, staring at the two robots, which had flown up to intercept them.

"Well, well, well. Going somewhere?" Mecha hissed triumphantly. The other robot was a strong contrast to Metal Sonic, bright red and built for combat, and Tails recognised him immediately from his time as a prisoner. Robo Knuckles.

He was as much a mockery of Knuckles as Mecha was of Sonic. He had a jet engine built into his back to enable flight, and his long dreadlocks stood out a little, razor sharp edges glinting. A painted white 'V' stood out on his chest, a contrast to his bright green eyes.

Tails backed away a step, and heard Mighty curse behind his ear. Mecha stepped forward, the movement shadowed by Robo Knux, and then his eyes fell upon Mighty's arms. "So...I see you found Ssssonic. Yes, I haven't finished with him yet. Why don't you come quietly and nobody needs to get hurt."

Robo Knux's long knuc-claws glinted. It was such an obvious lie that Tails didn't bother to answer. He was too busy rethinking the words anyway. '_you found Ssssonic...haven't finished with him yet..._'

A murderous rage filled him. Mecha had done this? He hadn't FINISHED?! His fur bristled warningly, twin tails swishing a little too fast. Mecha took another step forward...a big mistake. Tails launched himself at the robot unexpectedly, with a howl of anger.

Surprised, Mecha fell back onto the railing, Tails kicking and punching like a demon. The railing creaked and bent with misuse, then gave way with a splintered screech, bits of metal flying everywhere.

Fox and robot plunged down to the battlefield. Up above, Robo Knux's harsh voice grated against Mighty's ears like sandpaper. "Give me the hedgehog and I will kill you quickly."

Mighty gently put down Sonic, and faced the robot with a small grin. "You think you can take me? Knuckles isn't stronger than I am, and I bet you're not half as good as he." Robo Knux did not reply, merely charged at the waiting armadillo.

Mighty grinned, eyes merciless.

Below an angry roar sounded as the real Knuckles joined the fray.

When Vector, Charmy, Espio and Cream reached the last doorway by the far wall, all the robots had moved to the other side of the room, attempting to subdue the fighters, and not succeeding.

Vector looked through first, and ducked back as a laser shot missed his face by inches. "Whew!" he gasped, "It's a war zone out there. Esp, take Cream out. Me and Charmy'll get fighting." Espio nodded seriously, stepping back and taking Cream's hand.

In a second his grey camouflaged body hid both from view. "Ready...go!" Vector cried. Espio dashed outside, keeping Cream between him and the wall. To any robots, they were practically invisible.

Charmy twirled in mid-air and shot out into the battle, Vector pounding behind. No sooner had they smashed the first few robots then they stumbled upon Tails. The fox was in an almost berserk state, sitting on top of Mecha and trying desperately to strangle the robot.

None of the surrounding robots were firing lasers; Mecha had forbidden them to, in case they hit him, but they were slashing at the fox and trying to drag him off in all manner of ways. Tails was clinging with a death grip, bashing the root's head against the floor in a frenzy.

And he was laughing.


	18. Chapter 18

Chaos: Sorry for the long wait - I was on holiday for a week, if anybody noticed. Anyway, next chapter. Not much to say, except that I can't write any more on this story. It's very annoying, because I know what happens, but I can't write it well. (sigh) So, about 8 more chapters before we get to the Writer's Block. (gulp)

Flower: Hmm...well, I'm not sure about this next bit. Rouge seems just a bit OOC. Tell me what you think!

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Pink Shimmer - Hmm, yeah, maybe Shadow's battle cry was a bit OTT. Hmm. (grin) but you're right, it is funny.

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Spawn of 84 - (shrug) Hey, at least you reviewed.

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NM - You do know Breaking the Bond is finished, right? I stopped getting reviews after I wrote - as a joke! AAARG! - then Yugi died. The end. (sniffle)

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parslie - Oh, I am far from done with Sonic. (grin)

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el - Yes, I would say so. I think he's winning for almost the entire fic...

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Tundra - Yes, lots of people are saying that. Hmm...more maniac Tails! (laugh)

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N.Harmonik - Oh...yeah. (sweatdrop) Oopsie. Well spotted. At least there aren't...many...others. (nervous laugh)

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Kurama - Hehe, steady on! Mecha's already being killed by Tails! (laugh)

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oracle - Everybody likes Tails the beserker! (grin)

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Mitsuka - Actually, I had to make a list so I wouldn't forget anyone. Hehehehe. But thanks anyway! I just write the entire thing and base chapters on where the good lines are. I LOVE THE FANARRRRT!! (glomp-tackle-hug)

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Tarem - I don't think Tails knew he was so strong either...(gulp)

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Kemious - Well, err...Robo Knux can speak now! . Since he's never shown up in SegaSonic...has he?...then I'll just say he can speak. It makes it easier anyway. ....can Mecha talk?

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SD - Haha, better run before Tails becides you look like a good victim! Still...glad you like. (grin)

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Kirbs - Wait, come back! The story isn't finished! Nooooooo! (giggle)

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Rockfox - Well...here's more! Nice to see a new reviewer! (grin)

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Bunnierabbot - Wow! I'm glad you like it so much. Oh, and I can't thank Mitsuka enough. Thanks to you, for the review! (It rhymes, w00t!)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Vector stared for a second, in pure shock, Charmy hovering by his side and just watching the fox. Tails had always seemed such a gentle type, but this…this wasn't Tails at all.

With one more crack against the floor, a nasty clatter was heard in Metal Sonic's circuits, and the robot began slashing more wildly, desperate to rid himself of the demon.

Vector sprang into life and began to smash away the robots, which were still busy hacking at Tails. Charmy followed suit, and soon there was a clear circle around them.

On the other side, the destroyed circle was far larger than the amount of robots left. The fighters were standing around the edges of the circle, preventing the robots entering to attack them from behind. It was a good strategy.

In the control room, Eggman was tugging at his moustache almost frantically, wishing he hadn't used all his tranquillizers capturing the animals. He unlocked the door and ran for his last chance, the fighting robot he had built.

It was very large, with two long legs that held it high off the floor - much like the Military's walkers - and a cockpit buried right in the middle. Two long arms were folded in alongside, ready to unfurl at any moment.

He would take those freaks out if it was the last thing he did.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

With a crash Mecha went offline. With another his body sparked warningly. With one more, the control panel fell away, revealing sparking circuits. With one final hit, the circuits were shredded, making the robot almost irreparable.

And still Tails hit the dead robot against the floor, reason almost having left him. It wasn't until Vector turned from the last few robots, and picked him up by the scruff of the neck, that the madness left him. He went limp, panting, feeling for first time the sting of the cuts he had received.

Vector lifted him higher to look into his face. "You ok, kid?" Tails nodded briefly, and Vector shrugged and released him. Tails sat down and drooped. He had just regained his breath, when something landed beside him with a crash.

After he recovered from a near-heart attack, he looked at it. It was red and smashed. Curious, he rolled it onto its back and nearly screamed. Robo Knuckles. The robot was smashed almost to the point of being unrecognisable, 'V' scratched off, dreadlocks twisted, circuits ripped where his shell ended.

Tails looked up, suddenly remembering about Sonic and Mighty, and a cheery armadillo waved back. He smiled, whirled his tails, and managed to summon the energy to lift himself to the walkway.

Mighty looked at him in shock, and said, "Woah, kid. What happened to you?" Tails' smile faded, and he looked over the edge to where a smashed blue heap lay beside an equally smashed red one. Mighty followed his gaze and whistled quietly.

"Stronger than you look?"

"I…don't remember doing it…" Tails' voice was full of sudden fear. Mighty decided to drop the subject and turned to Sonic. After a quick pulse check he nodded, turned to Tails, and said,

"Let's get Sonic outta here, kid. They," he gestured below, "Don't need our help now." Tails nodded distractedly, still watching the remains of Mecha. Mighty shook him by the shoulder.

"Tails! Come on!" Tails jolted back into it and ran off down the walkway, Mighty following. Within minutes they had reach a gentle slope down, and emerged by an exit. Tails ran over to some bushes, and beckoned to Mighty.

Safely shielded behind the foliage, he slid back the cuff of his glove, and starting tapping madly on a small control pad strapped to his wrist. Within minutes a faint roaring became audible, and then the Tornado 2 floated down to land smoothly beside them, tracking onto its master's DNA signal.

Tails sighed in relief; he had spent long hours in prison worrying that, if he escaped, the Tornado would be locked in his garage and unable to fly to him. He vaulted into the front seat, feeling a rush of joy at the sight of his plane.

Mighty hopped up and placed Sonic next to him, and then nearly fell off the plane when a shrill scream sounded inside the building behind them.

"Ok, I'm going to go help. Get to the hospital as fast as you can, ok?" Tails started to speak, when Mighty grabbed him by the shoulders and said, "It'll be fine! Just. Go. Now!" Tails nodded and prepared the plane's engines.

Mighty hopped down, landing on the soft grass with a thud, and waved his new friend off. Then he dashed for the door, disappearing into the darkness of late evening. The Tornado rocketed into the sky, and Tails automatically relaxed.

This was his element.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was Rouge who had screamed. Several robots had managed to isolate her, and one had swiped her so hard she had rocketed into the wall with a crash. She slumped down weakly, feeling pain stab at her like knifes.

As the robots advanced she wondered if Sonic had felt this way, and felt another stab...this time of guilt. She should've tried to save him...too busy thinking of her own skin as usual.

Knuckles wiped his forehead, looked around, and saw her plight. Diving imbetween two robots, which ended up shooting each other, he dashed towards her. A hunter robot jumped into his path, snarling, and was almost immediately crushed to the floor by Shadow's homing attack.

Shadow uncurled, saw Knuckles, and yelled, "Go!" before dashing away again. Shadow was dealing with the hunters single-handed, and Knuckles didn't think he'd be able to keep it up much longer.

The echidna continued, reached the far wall, and saw Rouge half-roll to the side as a robot stabbed at her, its blade striking the wall instead and showering sparks in every direction.

Knuckles held up both fists and charged.

Rouge unshielded her eyes a moment later to see Knuckles panting and stumbling towards her. "You...ok?" he gasped, and she nodded dumbly. Knuckles looked around momentarily. The last robots were quickly being disposed of, so he dropped against the wall to rest.

Rouge was staring at the floor quietly, and then muttered, "You shouldn't have helped me."

"What?"

"You could have got hurt. This...was my punishment."

"What?! Punishment for what?"

"I killed Sonic!" Rouge suddenly wailed, letting out all her guilt. It had seemed ok at the time, an impulse decision, but the things Shadow had said, and her own doubts, had inflamed it into an act of malice.

Knuckles was astounded. "You did what?" Rouge hid her face in her hands and burst into tears. Knuckles was startled, even a bit scared. He had never seen Rouge break down like this, ever, not even when things were despairing.

She killed Sonic? Surely not. But, come to think of it, he hadn't seen Sonic anywhere. He hadn't even noticed the hedgehog was still missing! He put one hand on her shoulder and said quickly,

"What did you do, Rouge? What did you do?"

Rouge only cried harder.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Flower: Phew, long chapter. Anyway, just here to say; don't think Robo Knux is out yet! He is built for battle, remember. Just a little note for Robo Knux fans. (I'm looking at yoooou, Sipp!) Hopefully next chapter will be up soon.


	19. Chapter 19

Flower: Whew, I finally got back on an updating track. I haven't updated for ages. Ack! I grovel at your feet, faithful readers! (splat)

Chaos: Anyway, the Writer's Block is still looming, which is quite depressing and doesn't make updating seem like a very pleasant activity right now. I apologise. Anywho... review responses, same old, same old... hey, I've actually missed doing this. (grin)

(dramatic pause as fanfiction stats are checked)

Flower: ... OH MY GOD! I have over two hundred reviews? (collapses) I don't believe it! Oh, this adds a whole new level of update-or-else to this story. I... just... wow. Thankyou all so much! (huggles for all) Unfortunately... review responses are taking up more spaces than the story. So I'll only answer the ones with questions, or the like. If that's ok... please keep reviewing! I have a review problem. (shifty eyes)

N.Harmonik - Shadow genuinely laughing? God forbid! Heh. Anywho... (luffle) your story is just... whoooo. I like cyber Sonic best! (grin)

Kirbs - Sonic is safe? You really think that! Oh, you're gonna kill me after this chapter then... (hides)

Naaaaaam - Ok, so you didn't put a question in your review but... this is a good oppurtunity fooor... (tackle) attacking Nam! Get updating, slacker! I finally have, now it's your turn! (laugh)

Mitsuka - You mean you thought I wouldn't like the fanart? Are you crazy! No... wait... don't answer that. (giggle) And yesh... Mecha is gone. But ssh, don't tell anyone.

Kemious - Ok, have to interject here... you think I wouldn't know Sonic R because it's too _old_! Hmmph! It's on my shelf with all my other Sonic games! Though... it does like to mess up my comp, so I haven't played it much but... the point remains. I wouldn't consider myself a proper fan if I didn't know... all the past history and alter-universes... (twitch)

Ok, have to interject here... you think I wouldn't know Sonic R because it's too ! Hmmph! It's on my shelf with all my other Sonic games! Though... it does like to mess up my comp, so I haven't played it much but... the point remains. I wouldn't consider myself a proper fan if I didn't know... all the past history and alter-universes... (twitch)

Riverwood - New reviewer! Yaaay! And thanks for such a lovely review! _I'm_ glad there's people like you out there willing to keep up with my... shoddy updating... (shifty eyes)

New reviewer! Yaaay! And thanks for such a lovely review! glad there's people like you out there willing to keep up with my... shoddy updating... (shifty eyes)

Sippy - I like that name. Heehee. And I think I see what you mean about not being a gripping story. It lost it's shine for me long ago... I only originally intended it as a little Sonic-gets-robotized-what-then? story and... it spiralled out of control! Anyway, I prefer Broken Dreams - the plot has more structure. Yaaaay.

Chibi - I wouldn't say that if I were you. (wink) I might get ideas! Anyway... I actually wrote this to say... why aren't you writing anything? You're as bad as Nam! (No offense there, Nam)

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tails' eyelids were drooping, but the sting of the wind against his cuts kept him awake. They were homing in on the city, and its bright lights glared through the night.

He cast a look to the side, where Sonic was slumped in the bloody chair, and saw a green eye looking back at him. He nearly jumped out of his seat there and then, and the plane gave a sudden lurch in mid-air.

He steadied it, and looked at Sonic again. "Sonic! You're awake!" Sonic blinked slowly, mind sorting out the words, and eventually said,

"Tails... you're... hurt."

"No, no, I'm fine. We're going to the hospital now, and... shouldn't you be resting? You can go back to sleep."

"No... I'll... die."

Tails shuddered involuntarily at the word, and clenched his fists around the controls.

"We're nearly there." he said, glaring at the ever-distant city. With a few deft button presses, the plane became X-mode, and picked up speed, roaring ever faster towards the hospital. The fuel dial slid down into dark red.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Shadow smashed through the last robot, and dropped to a crouch, one hand on the floor to steady himself andthe laser shot on his side blazing painfully. He managed to catch his breath and looked around at the others.

Miraculously none were badly hurt. The Chaotix, minus Espio, were bunched together, still in battle formation and looking almost surprised. Knuckles and Rouge were sitting by one wall, though Rouge seemed to be crying.

Knuckles, who had awkwardly put a hand on her shoulder, caught Shadow's eye and shrugged helplessly. Amy trotted across the room to Shadow, looking around dazedly at the debris, and said, "We did it!"

Shadow stood, and was about to reply when a grinding sound caught his ears. He froze and looked towards the far wall. Espio and Cream, who had just walked through the entrance, stopped talking and followed his gaze.

A much larger door was opening. It reached up to the roof, obviously for aircraft carriaging or similar, and was sliding upwards quite fast. Two heavy metal feet came into view and Shadow groaned to himself, knowing what was coming.

Robotnik always had to make a big entrance.

When the door slid up completely, the giant mech stomped out surprisingly quickly for something so large, and its arms unfolded to hang by its sides with a quiet swish. Shadow found himself taking an insticntivestep back, out of range, when Robotnik's voice echoed from a speaker upon the surface.

"You fools! Submit to being robotized and I won't injure you too much!" One of the arms outstretched and the mechanics inside folded out into an old-fashioned ball-and-chain swinging weapon.

Vector snorted and yelled back, "Can't you ever be original, Eggbutt? We'll destroy that tin can in seconds!" The robot roared angrily, and swung the mace. Shadow ducked, Amy following suit, and the spiked ball swung harmlessly over their heads with a low drone.

The Chaotix burst out laughing and the infuriated machine charged. The mech's gigantic feet smashed the crushed robot remains into pancakes, and the floor shook with every step.

The fighters split up and around the robot, which swung the ball-and-chain round in a circle, making them all duck.

It was a deadly game of jump rope.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The late-night traffic was slowly crawling along the packed streets of Central City, Station Square, most drivers too tired to even press their horns. It was almost relaxing, and far quieter than during the day.

It was a result of this silence that a whining could be heard. A few walkers paused and looked around in puzzlement, and the drivers with open windows craned their heads around to locate the source.

Then someone looked up and screamed, as the whine became a deafening squeal. A plane was hurtling down towards the street, out of control and engines spluttering. People began yelling and stampeding out of the way, calm silence broken.

Several drivers slammed on the brakes and leapt out of their cars, and the traffic became a jam of bright lights. Then the plane smashed down and into the side of a large bank with a deafening crash, and a loud security alarm added to the tumult.

People rushed over to the wreckage of the plane to see who had crash-landed so suddenly in the middle of the city, though some had already recognised the plane as the Tornado 2.

It was in X-mode, the two lower wings smashed against the street, the nose twisted against the remains of the wall like a crumpled piece of paper. A man leant over the side, wrenching open the mangled door, and cried,

"It's Tails and some dead animal!" Other people crowded around, and the other door was forced open. Tails looked up dizzily, the world spinning, and tightened his grip on the controls. The fuel dial read empty, a small crack across its glass surface.

"Are we there yet?" he moaned, a large bump starting to appear on his forehead. Somebody was lifting him up out of the seat, and he struggled fearfully, crying,

"No! I have to get to the hospital!" A voice interrupted him with,

"Yeah, you look pretty beat up. We'll get you to the hospital, don't worry."

"No, no! I need to get Sonic to the hospital!" The small crowd murmured quietly to each other, and one woman said,

"Must have concussion... haven't seen Sonic in ages... let's get him to the hospital quick!" Tails thrashed weakly, but the man holding him didn't release him.

"Come on, kid. We'll get help." Tails was getting dizzier, his thoughts going astray.

"Help for Sonic?"

The man paused, and then said, "Yes, help for Sonic." Tails relaxed and let himself get carried away.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Chaos: Yes, I'm mean. Anyway - twentieth chapter next time, so it'll be a long one. Don't kill me in the meantime! (waves white flag)


	20. Chapter 20

**Chaos:** Ok, it's Mass Easter Update time! Which is my excuse for not updating for so long... (cough) Anyway, it seemed appropriate, being the twentieth chapter, to update at Easter. (grin) Wow, I can't believe I made it this far! If only there was an ending... anybody got any ideas, tell me on Messenger! I need help! Though I guess that's a pretty unoriginal way to end the story... (shifty eyes) Well, at least Broken Dreams is finished, so I don't need to worry about that one. Review Responses!

**oracle apprentice -** The Egg Emporer? Well... Mecha drives it... I think. It's been ages since I played the game. (sweatdrop) Whereas in this story, it's kinda AU... I don't think Heroes even happened, heh heh heh.

**Kirbs -** I know... I kinda got into a rhythm with Maze of Memories. This story is becoming a real problem, being not finished and all, so I update it more slowly as I try and work out what's gonna happen. (groan)

**Shade-the-Hedgehog -** He's not dead yet... and I'm saying no more! Though I have mentioned several times that i'm not going to kill him. That would be a very depressing end. (ponders upon the angst) Hmm... then again, maybe not such a bad idea... (grins fiendishly)

**SoMe Fan and Dude -** No idea how many mroe chapters to go. And Sonic isn't quite dead yet! (nervous laugh)

**wouldn't you like to know TT -** Long time reader? Waaii! I have long-time readers! (giggles in a hyperactive way) Anyway, thanks for the long... very long... review. I live for long reviews. As for Tails, you're absolutely right... and they begin to notice the effects (in a very large way) quite soon. I say no more!

**SD -** Yesh, I try and stick to the game's style of boss-fighting. It makes it more... Sonic... get my drift? Hehehe.

**Mitsuka -** Yay, you're here! I thought you'd given up or something. And it's NOT great work, it's spiralling downwards...(sigh)

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At the Tornado's crash site, people began to drift away, but a few remained to stare curiously at the other passenger of the mangled plane.

"Ugh, what is it?"

"It looks like something mauled it!"

"Hey, look, it's still breathing…"

"Well, I'm not touching it!"

"Yeah, it could have some kind of disease!"

Then somebody pushed their way through the crowd to the side of the plane, and observed the animal within intently. Finally she said, "I'm taking _him_ to the hospital, so you can all leave now."

She lifted Sonic - albeit with a slight wince at the blood attacking her dress - and walked smartly away. The remaining crowd muttered suspiciously and drifted back to their usual activities; the traffic jam cleared, the alarm was turned off, and the silence resumed as though nothing had happened. The Tornado 2 was dragged away by some well wishers to Tails' house, to be repaired when the fox returned. And it was as if they had never been.

……………………………………………

Knuckles ducked the ball again, wondering how to hurt the machine. There was something wrong with this…only one weapon? It was barely even trying to hit them. He looked to the others, and saw the same wariness on their faces.

"Knuckles, duck!" two people yelled, one inside his head and one outside. He snapped back to the robot in time to see the ball heading for his face. No time! He froze instinctively, like a rabbit in car headlights, as he waited for the spikes to ram him.

Suddenly there was a blinding flash and someone, who got swiped by the ball instead, knocked him to the floor. His saviour screamed as she was flung away across the room.

Knuckles bounded up and ran after her, ignoring the robot. He knew that voice…! He skidded to a halt on the far side of the room, and knelt beside Tikal.

"Tikal, are you ok? Speak to me!" The female echidna winced and rolled over onto her back to face him.

"Don't worry," she groaned, "I've been dead for a thousand years already." Then she shut her eyes, panting in pain at the long scratches torn across her body. Knuckles lifted her head slightly, and touched her forehead. She had a fever.

Then a terrible scream ripped through his head like a thunderbolt, and he tumbled backwards, clutching his head in pain.

Chaos had realised what had happened.

The water creature was pacing round the Master Emerald, torn between Tikal and his duty. He howled at the sky in frustration, and Knuckles clutched his ears.

"Chaos, stop!" he yelled, and the others looked on in shock, even the robot pausing. But it had stopped for a different reason.

It was Amy who looked back first, and yelled out in fear. The others turned, and followed her gaze. The robot was shaking violently, metal coating starting to glow red with heat.

It's a trap!" Vector howled in realisation, "It's gonna blow!" The room itself was starting to shake…it seemed that Robotnik had triggered a defence mechanism and run. With another clang the group swung around to see the outer doors shut.

Knuckles was still yelling at Chaos, but he could barely be heard over the rumbling coming from the kamikaze robot. On the Floating Island, Chaos looked around for intruders and found none.

Satisfied, he turned to the Chaos Emeralds, hovering serenely on their reconstructed posts.

"CHAOS DON'T YOU DARE!" Knuckles roared in his head, but the beast ignored him, reaching out his watery arms towards the glowing gems.

Knuckles was shaken back to reality by a slap in the face. Rouge hissed, "What's going on?" Knuckles moaned to himself, and said,

"Chaos is coming…with the Chaos Emeralds." Rouge's green eyes widened; she had heard about the time Chaos had destroyed Station Square with the emeralds before. She turned to the others, and said grimly,

"We need of get out of here. Knock down the door, or something!" Vector charged the steel door, and bounced off as though he were a stuffed animal trying to knock over a brick wall.

Charmy shook his head helplessly. Now it was a race…between the countdown of a self-destruct, and a watery monster coming for revenge. And they were caught in the middle. Then he looked up and yelled, pointing.

Mighty laughed in derisive disbelief. "An emergency exit? You're kidding me! I mean, I know the good doctor is stupid, but..."

Shadow gazed up at the doorway in the second story, folded his arms and picked out an immediate problem. "How do we get up there?"

Cream smiled; she could finally be useful! She flapped her ears strongly, taking off in a small gust. The air was heavy with heat from the robot, which was now a bright angry red and showering sparks in every direction.

She dropped back down, and called out, "I can only lift one person! It's too hot…" Charmy nodded in agreement. The animals looked at each other.

Now it was a race to get out.

…………………………………………….

Perfect Chaos surged over the countryside for the second time, uprooting trees and leaving a wasteland in his wake. His green eyes glowed with anger, determined to destroy whoever had hurt his friend.

A mountain rose before him, a small grey smudge of metal marking the base. He flooded forward with another roar, jaws agape and spewing water in an endless tide.

……………………………………………

Charmy dropped Tikal lightly on a balcony outside the base, and she muttered thanks, concentrating on healing herself before she passed out. No sooner had the bee swooped inside, then Rouge and Cream flew out.

They were carrying Amy and Mighty to join those already airlifted to safety; Knuckles - who had climbed out with Espio - and Vector, who had been lifted between two fliers. (He was grumbling about being big-boned.)

This left only Shadow inside, Charmy concluded as he plunged back into the furnace.

The robot was radiating heat in waves from its overloading core, red light reflecting off the walls, and the room was becoming more and more similar to an oven. Charmy dove in, sweat breaking out on his forehead immediately, looking through the shimmering air for Shadow.

The hedgehog's fur stood out easily against the red light, and Charmy darted down, intending to get out and away as quickly as possible. The floor was glowing red by itself, and the moment Charmy touched down, he sprang up with a cry of pain.

Shadow had activated his hover shoes to keep from touching the burning metal, but the heat was making him dizzy. He saw Charmy and skated towards him, jets making a faint spluttering at the heat that threatened to melt them.

At that moment a roar sounded from outside, reminding Shadow of the Biolizard - it couldn't be? - and the main door quivered. Shadow and Charmy paused, as though hypnotised, to watch as a trickle of water spread from beneath, immediately evaporating into steam.

Knuckles crouched and put an arm around Tikal, supporting her into a sitting position. Perfect Chaos rose up before them like a massive wall of water. It was a strange location; the metal behind them was slightly warm from the heat inside, and at the same time they were being drenched in a cold spray.

They had all frozen at the sight of the beast, nervous about moving in case he became maddened. Tikal gazed straight into Chaos' eyes, radiating pictures of happiness and serenity, attempting to calm him down.

Vector's eyes darted around nervously; Charmy had not yet emerged from within. It was just at that second that Charmy and Shadow came flying out of the door…and straight into Tikal.

Tikal squealed in pain at her half-healed cuts, and Perfect Chaos roared in anger. Then everything happened at once.

The watery monster surged forward with a roar, this time of rushing water, Tikal threw apart her hands and shouted, "NO!", and the base detonated in a fireball.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Amy screamed as water crashed into her from the front, and fire burned her from behind. Then it suddenly stopped, leaving a slight ringing in her ears. She slowly uncovered her head to see the world shimmering white.

She looked around in confusion and saw the others nearby, staring in equal confusion at the shield bubble around them. In the centre Tikal was shuddering painfully, Knuckles keeping a safe grip on her shoulders as they both concentrated the power of the Master Emerald around themselves and the others.

The explosion threw the bubble high into the air, along with all its occupants, and for a second they were at eye-level with Perfect Chaos. Then they were soaring away into darkness, fire raging war with water below.

Perfect Chaos roared and slashed out at the explosion, tentacle evaporating as soon as it hit. He shot a beam from his mouth, and it ripped through the centre of the fireball that hissed against his tentacles. One had to give; the fire was slowly extinguishing, and Chaos was slowly evaporating.

Then the fire crashed forward once more and Chaos fell back, defeated. The fireball rose out and away into the sky to fizzle away in a massive firework. On the ground the base was torn away by the destruction of all its internal machinery, and the cliff groaned suddenly.

With an earth-shattering roar the cliff came crashing down, burying Chaos, the remains of the base, and much of the surrounding countryside. The bubble drifted down to the edge of the wreckage, and disappeared with a tiny pop.

Tikal looked up at Knuckles weakly, and muttered, "Sorry...can't help you...anymore." Then she vanished into an orb of light and bobbed away slowly towards Angel Island. Knuckles coughed in the thick cloud of dust thrown up by the landslide, and began searching for the others.

Miraculously they were all ok, or at least not badly injured, despite all that had happened. Slowly an exhausted Chaos 0 dug himself out of the rocks and sloped towards them through the twilight, head hanging.

Knuckles growled under his breath, but remained quiet; he could yell at Chaos later. For now he wanted to get back to his island; his legs were aching where Mecha had clawed at them, and he hadn't slept for what seemed like ages.

He didn't need to say anything; they all knew.

They were going home.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Chaos:** Well, I guess I could just end it here, and write an epilogue of sorts... who thinks I should? 'Cause the next plot twist is currently unresolved, though the idea is good...(sigh) I wish writing this were as easy as reading and replying to the reviews! (grin)


	21. Chapter 21

**Chaos:** (RANT ALERT) I would like to take this moment to issue an official apology to each and every one of my faithful reviewers. (If there are any of you remaining) As you have most probably noticed, I haven't updated this story for several months – only now do I look back, stare in shock, and start kicking myself. Who do I think I am? I should have sorted this out long ago. I shouldn't have posted it before it was finished, when the ending was doubtful. Perhaps I got carried away. Then the updates gradually became fewer and fewer, did I care? Not really; it just gave me more time to write the end. Or so I thought. I didn't write a word of this story in the last three months, and then I thought it would be acceptable to suggest an ending bang in the middle of the action? What was I thinking! None of you deserve that, and so I say here and now; I am sorry. I grovel, I beg, I cry for forgiveness. As for the story itself, I've walked up to that writer's block, stomped on it repeatedly, booted it into a corner, and deleted the last five pages of so-called Silver Lining. I _will_ finish it, I _will_ work properly to get it finished, and I will _not_ accept the trashy drivel that I half-heartedly spewed beforehand, in the hope of reviews. I sicken myself. Who the hell do I think I am? Just because my story has over 200 reviews, does that mean I can neglect it and begin the awful cycle of useless chapters designed to prolong the story as long as possible? No! No more! This. Story. Will. Be. Finished. I declare this here and now; never let me forget it again.

I thank you for reading this rant, and for holding out this long for the next chapter. I'm only sorry, once again, that I can't offer anything better for this particular update. Can anything redeem this story now? I guess only time will tell.

Enjoy!

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At that moment, Sonic wasn't at the main hospital. He had been taken to a different one; it was nearer, but smaller. He was lying unresponsively in a hospital bed, complete with oxygen mask and a drip, and swathed in bandages.

Outside the room, a doctor was talking to his rescuer. "We gave him a blood transfusion," he said, "You were lucky; we had a sample of the right type. He should be ok, but there is something else."

The female rabbit nodded concernedly, and he continued, "We couldn't remove the metal covering him; it seems that there were some kind of probes protruding from it inside, especially around the head area. That's why his wounds are so bad; because the metal was ripped away forcibly, the probes tore through. If we remove the metal now it would probably kill him, and certainly give him brain damage. Already we don't know what his mental state will be like. He may never wake up."

"It's fascinating, actually. It's almost as if the wires were replacing the nerve endings...I've only heard about this kind of thing once before, on the E-series robots by Doctor Robotnik; they had an animal in the centre, or something...but I'm not a scientist. I don't really know."

The rabbit nodded solemnly, and then asked, "But his condition isn't critical any more?" The doctor smiled grimly.

"Not dangerous, but questionable. Oh, by the way, do you know who he is? We can't tell at this stage, and we'd like to contact any relatives. I understand you're not related?"

"No, I'm...just a good friend. I wouldn't worry; his friends are sure to be here soon."

The doctor frowned, but nodded and walked off. The rabbit sighed in relief, and walked in to the bedside. She patted his hand and whispered, "You'll be fine."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Next day, Station Square Hospital

"What do you mean, 'he's not here'?" Knuckles' voice was quiet, but underlying tension gave it away. He sounded dangerous; it was his third day without sleep, and annoying him was NOT a good idea. The doctor backed away uneasily, not meeting his burning gaze.

"I'm sorry, sir. We've no hedgehogs in the hospital, let alone Sonic. Nobody's seen him for weeks." Knuckles turned his back, mind racing. If only Tails was awake! He knew only that the fox had been brought in during the night. _Brought in!_ And no hedgehog with him either.

He growled and strode back into the waiting room, throwing the receptionist a death-glare in case she had messed up the records. Hmm... maybe Tails was awake now? He sighed and banged through a set of double-doors, longing to be back on his island. The Chaotix had better be doing a good job.

He rubbed his stinging eyes, trying to stay awake.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Angel Island

Vector frowned, spreading out his cards. He drummed his fingers on the Master Emerald thoughtfully, creating a low clinking. Then he turned to Mighty, opposite him, and casually asked,

"Got any threes?"

The armadillo grinned, and replied, "Go fish." Vector scowled and drew a card from the deck in the middle of the Emerald; sure, it was super-powerful, but he had to admit that it made a good card-table.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Amy was reading a love novel by the bed when Knuckles stomped in. She looked up briefly, nodded at him, and then went back to her book. The echidna ground his teeth together and looked at Tails.

He nearly fell over in shock.

Tails was sitting up in bed, looking at Amy with an amused expression in one eye. The other was hidden beneath a bandage that wound around his head and over a sizable bump.

Knuckles gaped at him, and then at Amy. Slowly he said,

"Hey, Amy. What're you doing?"

The pink hedgehog licked her finger and turned the page. "Hm?"

"What're you _doing_?" Knuckles asked loudly. She didn't look up, but murmured,

"Waiting for Tails to wake up."

Knuckles raised an eyebrow. Amy picked up the meaningful silence, and looked up. Without missing a beat she beamed at Tails and exclaimed, "Tails! You're awake!"

The fox smiled, casting a glance at Knuckles - he was used to the way Amy instantly adapted, but the echidna was not. Knuckles managed to recover himself and sat down next to Amy, silently shaking his head.

"So, Tails. What happened when you were flying back?" he asked, looking sideways at the pink hedgehog suspiciously.

Tails thought for a minute and lost his smile. "I ran out of fuel," he moaned, "When I was over the city. Then I crash-landed and… and… I don't remember anything after that. Concussion." He lightly tapped the bandage, and looked down apologetically. Knuckles sighed; they were back where they started.

"Well, is everyone ok? Is Sonic ok?" Tails suddenly asked. Knuckles looked into his eyes, bright with hope, and found he couldn't say anything. Finally he said,

"Everybody's... fine." Tails' eyes became worried.

"What about Sonic?" he insisted. Amy was looking at him too; they both wanted to know. He turned away, stared at the wall for a second, and then muttered,

"He's not here. He's not at this hospital."

Amy paled and Tails blinked disbelievingly. "But... but..." the fox stuttered quietly. Knuckles shook his head, still fixating his eyes on the light switch. Then he strode out of the room, unable to stand it any longer.

Tails stared after him, clinging to the edge of the blanket for comfort. "But he was right next to me in the plane," he said, blinking rapidly, "He was awake, but he said that... that... and then we crashed and... but I can't..." he shook his head, trying desperately to clear the fog in his mind.

Amy slowly edged out of the chair, grabbed her book and mumbled that she would be back in the afternoon. Then she bolted for the door, leaving Tails alone.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Cheese and Chocola were beginning to complain loudly; it had been hours since they had sat down to wait. Sonic lay on the bed, dead to the world, and Vanilla sighed. The chao needed to get home, and Sonic's friends needed to be called. She couldn't afford to wait any longer.

What had the doctor said? He might never wake up...

Slowly she stood, stretched, and headed for the door. Now she had to think about how exactly to tell this to his friends.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As Knuckles walked up, Charmy waved and Espio called out, but he ignored them and strode up to the shrine. Mighty looked up from his position at the foot of the steps, then got up hastily.

"Oh, hi Knuckles. Didn't think you'd be back so...soon..." he trailed off uncertainly as the echidna stormed past him, face like thunder. Knuckles took the steps three at a time and walked up to the Emerald, ignoring Vector by its side.

Then he placed his hands on the smooth green surface and shut his eyes, breathing deeply. Vector scrambled away quickly to the others.

"What's gotten into him?"

"Dunno...I bet something's happened though."

"Hey, maybe we should go see?"

"Nah, it could be nothing. Maybe Rouge yelled at him!" they both sniggered; the subject was a constant amusement to all of the Chaotix.

"Well, let's stick around; he might tell us."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

In Sonic's hospital the hedgehog lay almost as still as before.

Almost.

Somewhere beneath the surface, systems were rebooting, damage was being assessed, circuits reactivated. The electronic eye did not come on, the remaining robotized limbs didn't move, but the computer came to life again.

It was a simple system; designed to reroute thoughts and commands from the body within, picking up nerve impulses, converting and assessing them. And this particular system was even more simple than usual; robotization was incomplete at the very first and the control system was incredibly weak.

Slowly the computer became stronger - all of Robotnik's machines were learning systems, to a degree - and began to follow the base orders, trying to control the subject. Sonic's willpower was too strong at first, but now there was no resistance whatsoever.

However, this also brought another problem. Without orders, or the subject sending commands, the computer - Cinos - didn't know what to do. For a few moments it waited, scanning the base drives for some command.

Though all other orders had either been terminated or were useless, there was one that still stood - a base command in all robots, should they find themselves at standby. Return to base. Contact Master Robotnik. Scanners activated and the electronic eye flicked on, sensors travelling around the room.

It was not the base. The computer was satisfied, and began assessing how to complete the order. 62 of the subject's nerve endings were still rerouted, ready for commands.

A few seconds later, Sonic's robotized arm twitched.


	22. Chapter 22

Chaos: Why not update within four days? Why not update all the time? Why not update? I just keep asking myself that… oh, and kudos to ffnet for the new login system; it rocks.

**Spawn – **A compliment wrapped up in an admonishment? Clever. And thank you!

**Stryker – **Hey, thanks! As for Tails… I'm not too sure about him yet. We'll have to see how it unfolds…

**RockFox – **Thanks, but I don't think the plot is that great if you take a second look; Sonic gets robotized, Sonic gets derobotized… or not! And so forth… (laugh)

**Nammish – **Good thing you can't nudge in reviews, or I'd be hiding in the closet right now… aaaaanyway yes, you haven't updating in ages! (prod) And what's Chaos Flower without cliffhangers? (grin)

**Kemious – **Thanks, but no, I was just lazy. And revising too much. (groan)

**Kai** – Thank you… I love being twisted! (grin) I don't even post half of my stories for that exact reason – far too twisted. Heh heh. And I'll always come back, I hope, even I do lose interest once in a while…

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Vanilla unlocked the door to her flat and looked in. It was silent and meticulously tidy, apparently uninhabited, but a pair of shoes tossed loosely onto the floor told otherwise. She moved quietly to the bedroom, where Cream was deep asleep in the bed.

Cheese zoomed into the room, squeaking quietly in excitement, and settled in one of her velvety ears, purring.

Vanilla smiled and withdrew, shutting the door and walking to the phone. She dialled Tails' number, but nobody picked up. Then she dialled Amy's number, and received an answer after several rings.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Amy," she said brightly, keeping her voice low so as not to wake her daughter.

"Oh, it's you, Vanilla. Didn't recognise you for a second there. How are you?" Amy's response sounded automatic; she had other thoughts in her mind.

"I'm fine," Vanilla responded quickly, "But I have to tell you that-" Suddenly the phone went dead, along with the lights. The rabbit was plunged into semi-darkness as the electricity cut out.

Alarmed, she raced to the window, and watched in amazed horror as a wave of darkness spread over the city.

.-.-.-.-

"Hello? Hello? Vanilla?" Amy asked, receiving no response.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Robo Knux was a far stronger robot than Mecha, who was built for stealth and speed, and he was down but far from out. The explosion had done nothing to his titanium shell, but hurled his offline body far over the city until he landed with a bump and a crash on a hard concrete floor.

Slowly his system repaired enough for him to come online, and his eyes flicked on brightly. He had not been in operation nearly long enough to format the complex programming of emotions, as Mecha had, but still...

The face of the armadillo emerged from his memory banks, marked as 'dangerous', and with it the taunt he had issued. About another with his name, 'the real him'... it was a paradox he didn't understand.

Computers hated paradoxes. He determined to find this creature and make it tell him who the other Knuckles was, in the only way he knew; pain.

But another mission was more important - repair. He would find a way to repair himself from the 44 he was running at, and then find this armadillo. In the absence of other orders, he could do what he chose.

All this processing took a number of seconds. Then he rose from the floor and scanned his surroundings efficiently.

The large, flat concrete top of a building. Scanners pierced the distance and read a sign on the other side;

Station Square Power Station.

Caution! High voltage. Danger of electrocution.

And with it a little picture of a lightening bolt. He recognised it as a warning signal, and a millisecond later his computer registered the significance of the building.

If he had understood luck, he would have praised it then.

But robots, even super-intelligent ones, believe in nothing as illogical as fate. He scraped his twisted dreadlocks back into place and away from his eyes, ripping long scratches in them from his knucclaws, and set off, sparks hissing from his damaged circuits.

Ten minutes later, he had prised away the control panel covering and was regarding the wiring with puzzlement. No program had been written for him to understand this. He knew that electricity would revive the tiny repair droids within his damaged circuits, helping him to repair five times as fast, but how to obtain this electricity?

His computer wasn't built for problem solving, only for fighting. He jammed both knucclaws into the panel. Energy immediately flowed into him in a surge of deadly electricity.

And all over the city the power went dead.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The power was dead for an hour. It was enough. When Vanilla arrived to check on Sonic at the hospital, the bed was empty.

The window was smashed.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Amy paced her flat nervously, waiting for the lights to come back on. Her mind raced over the possibilities, until eventually she decided to simply go round to Vanilla's and see what the trouble was.

She was just pulling on her coat when there was a knock at the door. Swallowing a growl of annoyance, she strode over to the door. It was a grey wolf in a white coat, panting and out of breath.

"You're...Amy Rose?" he gasped, and she nodded, waited for a response.

"It's your friend...Tails, you need to...come quickly." The doctor stopped, trying to regain his breath.

Amy was already gone.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Tails was having a relapse. All the torment, the weeks spent chained up without sunlight, the agony over what had happened to Sonic, had finally driven him over the edge.

He half-crouched, half-stood in the corner of his dark room, looking around with wild eyes. He had managed to wrench a hypodermic needle off one of the doctors and was brandishing it fiercely at anyone who tried to approach.

And not many did.

The bandage on his head had come loose, falling further over one of his eyes, as he muttered under his breath, eyes flicking around the doctors surrounding him. Then Amy suddenly pushed through the crowd, panting with the exertion of running, and held out a hand to him.

"Tails, come on... it's ok, I'm here..."

"No!" he cried fiercely, and she hastily stepped back, as he continued, quieter, "No, there's too many of them! I can't do anything! They'll lock me up again... I don't want to go back!"

He was hysterical. Amy immediately recognised the problem and motioned to the doctors to back off. She lowered her voice, hand still outstretched pleadingly.

"No, Tails, it's just me, it's ok. You're free, it's ok, everything's fine." She kept repeating it, voice soothing, until Tails began lowering the needle, fears abating. In a sudden rush of movement he threw it aside and ran towards her, flinging his arms round her neck and sobbing into her shoulder. She jerked back for a second, surprised, but then hugged him back.

"It's not fair!" he wailed incoherently, as she fought tears herself, stroking his shoulder.

"I know." She replied, trying not to think of Sonic.

If she had looked out of the window she would have seen a red glow lighting the dark alley below. The red glow of a robotic eye.


End file.
